Nurses were flown in from elsewhere in California and from out of state as officials promised quality care at six area hospitals despite a strike by about 2,000 registered nurses. ``We feel we are able to operate with some (reductions) but still are able to offer our range of services,'' said Dr. Kenneth Hammerman, chief of staff at St. Francis Memorial Hospital. The nurses, demanding higher pay and regular raises for veteran employees, walked off the job Tuesday morning. Ten other hospitals in San Francisco remain unaffected. The six hospitals continued operating, caring for about 900 patients with management employees and temporary nurses, officials said. The hospitals, which negotiated as a group called Affiliated Hospitals of San Francisco, also transferred some patients, consolidated some critical-care units and referred some patients elsewhere. Hospital officials declined to say how many nurses were flown in. California Nurses Association spokeswoman Maureen Anderson estimated the number at 20 to 30. The walkout, which occurred after the nurses rejected a last-minute, revised offer, was the first widespread strike by registered nurses here since 1974. No new talks were scheduled. Hardest hit was the 61-bed Marshall Hale Hospital in San Francisco, where the emergency room was closed, operations canceled and no new patients were being admitted. Nurses on the picket lines questioned the qualifications of temporary workers and the quality of patient care. ``Common sense tells me I would not go to an Affiliated Hospital with nearly 4,000 workers on strike,'' Anderson said. Affected hospitals were St. Francis, Marshall Hale, Children's, Mount Zion and St. Mary's in San Francisco and Seton Medical Center in Daly City. The nurses want an 11 percent raise the first year and 10 percent the second year of a two-year contract. Affiliated Hospitals late Monday offered 18 percent over 31 months. Registered nurses at Affiliated Hospitals earn from about $31,000 to about $36,000 for day shifts and up to $43,000 a year for night shifts.
