Commentary: I Became a Nurse to Care for the Community That Raised Me. I Went on Strike So I Can Continue to Be a Part of It

I didn’t become a nurse to get rich.

I became a nurse because I wanted to care for people in the community that raised me.

This isn’t just where I work; it’s home. I grew up here. My parents live here. My children are growing up here. I wanted to spend my career taking care of my neighbors, my teachers, my friends and the families who helped shape my life.

I know healthcare is expensive. I know many people worry that every dollar spent in one place means there’s less somewhere else. I understand those concerns because I’m a patient, a parent and a member of this community, too.

But the Mount Nittany Medical Center workers’ strike isn’t about choosing money over patients. It’s about asking whether the people who dedicate their lives to caring for this community can continue to afford to be part of it.

When I bought my first home in 2009, I was able to pay it off in less than 15 years. My nursing income carried most of that responsibility, despite only minimal financial contribution from my then-husband. Today, after divorce, I fully support myself and my two daughters. With today’s home prices and mortgage rates, I could not afford to buy that same home on my current income.

That isn’t because I’ve become irresponsible. It’s because the cost of living has changed dramatically while wages haven’t kept pace.

I also understand that running a hospital is incredibly complicated. Hospitals have debt. They have equipment to replace, buildings to maintain, technology to purchase and long-term investments to make. Those responsibilities are real, and I don’t dismiss them.

But every budget reflects priorities.

A hospital can invest in new facilities and future growth while also investing in the experienced staff who make those facilities meaningful. Those aren’t competing priorities; they depend on one another. 

Buildings don’t recognize a stroke. 

Equipment doesn’t comfort a frightened child. 

Technology doesn’t notice the subtle change that prevents a crisis.

People do that.

When experienced staff leave because they can no longer afford to stay, the community loses something that takes years, sometimes decades, to rebuild.

People often ask why healthcare workers don’t simply work somewhere else if another hospital pays more.

Many do. I have considered it. 

That’s exactly why this matters. 

I don’t want to leave.

I don’t want my daughters to grow up watching their mom commute to another town because the community she loves can no longer support the profession she’s devoted her life to. I want to retire here. I want to continue caring for the people who have trusted me with some of the hardest moments of their lives.

A strike is one of the hardest decisions any healthcare worker can make. We chose careers in healthcare because we care about people. Walking away from the bedside, the operating room, the laboratory, the imaging department, environmental services, registration, food services, maintenance and every other role that supports patient care, even temporarily, goes against every instinct we have.

But sometimes, caring for patients means fighting for the conditions that allow dedicated staff to remain here for years to come.

This isn’t just about today’s contract. It’s about whether the next generation of healthcare workers will be able to build a life in this community, raise a family here, buy a home here and still choose to care for the people who live here.

Whether you support the strike or not, I hope you’ll understand this: I was not standing on a picket line because I stopped caring.

I was standing there because I care deeply about my patients, my coworkers, my profession and the community that has always been my home.

When this is over, I don’t want to have “won.”

I want every patient who walks through our doors to have won, with a hospital that can attract and keep experienced staff, provide exceptional care and remain a place where the people who dedicate their lives to others can also build a life of their own.

Candice Rothwell is a registered nurse at Mount Nittany Medical Center.