WARREN (TNS) — Warren General Hospital nurses will see average pay increases of 4.5% the first year and 3% in each of the next two years, with some nurses seeing more than 17% in pay hikes over the life of a three-year labor agreement that was overwhelmingly approved Wednesday by nurses and other health care professionals.

Moreover, the 114 members of the Warren General Hospital Professional Employees Association reached an agreement with the hospital administration on measures to address staff shortages caused by higher census and increased admissions of seriously ill patients. Pulling available supervisors and qualified staff from other units, seeking volunteers among nurses who have expressed interest in picking up extra shifts and calling casual nurses into work are among the new measures.

”We are thrilled,” Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals President Maureen May said in a prepared statement. “This contract, with its emphasis on safe staffing, prioritizes excellence in patient care as well as the health and wellbeing of frontline caregivers.”

On Saturday, union members at Warren General voted to strike in 10 days but reached a tentative agreement during talks on Monday.

The Warren General association is a local chapter of Conshohocken, Pa.-based PASNAP, which represents more than 9,000 nurses and other health care professionals in the state.

Warren General, an 87-bed acute care facility, is an affiliate of Highmark Health’s Allegheny Health Network.