Ellis Hospital in Schenectady reached a tentative four-year contract agreement with hundreds of nurses who had threatened to strike, the hospital's president and CEO announced Monday.

The agreement between the hospital and New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which still requires the nurses' approval, provides for a per diem nurse program that aims to incentivize working difficult-to-fill shifts and hiring nurses; unspecified wage increases; the continuation of open shop rights; and more, according to a statement by Paul Milton, Ellis president and CEO.

He said the contract represents a positive step forward for nurses and the organization.

"The parties re-affirmed a practical approach where staffing assignments are based on consideration of staffing guidelines, patient acuity, and professional practice standards, while acknowledging the national nursing shortage and day-to-day staffing challenges," Milton said.

Two weeks ago, NYSNA members at Ellis Hospital and Bellevue Women’s Center announced they had voted to authorize a three-day unfair labor practice strike. Over 600 nurses at the two facilities could have went on strike, the union said.

Nurses said they had sought safe staffing levels in a contract for more than a year. NYSNA said it filed unfair labor practice charges against Ellis in May.