WILKES-BARRE - Registered nurses at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital delivered a petition with nearly 10,000 signatures to James Carmody, vice president of human resources, on Tuesday demanding that the hospital's new owner Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems put "patients before profits."

Nurses originally intended to deliver the petition to the hospital's chief executive officer Cornelio Catena, but he was in a meeting, registered nurse Fran Prusinski said outside the hospital after delivering the petition.

"I'm a little disappointed Mr. Catena wasn't available," Prusinski said. "As the CEO of this community hospital, it would be nice for him to know how the community feels toward the nurses."

More than 400 registered nurses, represented by the union Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, have expressed concerns about staffing and a proposal that Prusinski said would put them into the ranks of the "underinsured."

"Staffing is a big issue especially right now because the hospital is at a high census," Prusinski said. "People are waiting in the emergency rooms for beds. Nurses are just working overtime and trying to help out and we're just short-staffed all around."

Bargaining sessions are scheduled Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 at the East Mountain Inn in Plains Township. Nurses do not want to strike, she said.

Security guards would not allow a reporter and a photographer to enter the hospital on Tuesday.

Wilkes-Barre General Hospital spokesman Kevin McDonald released a statement later Tuesday saying the demonstration PASNAP conducted had no impact on patient care, but all services remained open and fully staffed.

"We respect our nurses and hold them in high regard and we are concerned that the union has chosen to side-step the collective bargaining process through tactics designed to attract media attention. Such efforts are counterproductive to good-faith bargaining and appear inconsistent with a sincere interest in reaching a formal agreement," the statement read.

"Because we respect the collective bargaining process set forth by law, it is our position that discussions between the hospital and PASNAP can only be finalized at the bargaining table through fair and appropriate negotiations."

Nurses have been gathering signatures on the petition since mid-summer. Thousands of patients signed the petition during the nearly 40 informational pickets the nurses held at the hospital and the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion in Edwardsville.

The petition that residents signed states that nurses "deserve to be treated with respect and recognized for their critical work on behalf of the community." It also urges hospital officials to negotiate fairly with the nurses, to offer them quality health care for their families and to listen to their concerns about safe staffing and patient safety.

The statement McDonald released states the hospital "remains committed to good-faith bargaining and we sincerely hope a mutually acceptable agreement will be reached soon."