It’s unfortunate that a new contract between Warren General Hospital and the union representing its nursing staff had to resort to strike notices and pickets.

It’s easy for these contract negotiations to result in bad blood between the employer and employees. And, honestly, public statements in recent weeks from both sides indicate there is some healing needed for the working relationship between Warren General Hospital administrators and members of the Warren General Hospital Professional Employees Association. Neither side has had an easy job during the pandemic, and it’s easy to have tunnel vision on the tasks ahead of you rather than looking at the big picture for the entire organization.

Here’s the big picture.

The hospital can’t function without a dedicated nursing staff. They provide the day-to-day care that Warren-area residents count on. But employees would do well to remember that they need a financially viable hospital with the needed equipment to do their jobs each and every day. Hospital administrators need the nursing staff. Conversely, even the best nurses can’t provide quality care if their equipment doesn’t work or if there is no money for the items they need to do their jobs. The nurses need the hospital administrators to do their jobs well.

One side cannot be successful without the other. Now that a contract has been resolved, both sides need to bury the hatchet and remember that they need each other to succeed.