LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The nurses of Wilcox Memorial Hospital yesterday overwhelmingly ratified a contract that ends their 126-day strike against the island's largest medical facility.

Nurses will return to the hospital Thursday to update requirements such as tuberculosis tests and proficiency in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and are to return to the wards as early as next Saturday, the hospital said.

The four-month strike was long, but nurses said that while the agreement isn't everything they sought, they feel they got resolution on a key issue: a say in helping develop a method of assessing patient-care needs so that nurse staffing needs are clear. They argued that it is a key feature for good patient care.

"Overall, this is not the contract we hoped for. For us, personally, it is less than we could have had if we had just given up on our principle for better patient healthcare and signed the package that was on the table when we voted to strike. We gave up four months of our income to win the key benefit," said negotiating team member Chris Broussard.

While the language of the contract was not released, nurses said that Wilcox and its parent, Hawai'i Pacific Health, agreed to form a joint nurse-management committee to develop a patient needs assessment system.

The strikers said that one of the heartwarming features of the strike was the backing they got from individuals, organizations, companies and other unions.

"Support from the Kaua'i community has been amazing. The constant and deep support was a tremendous boost to our spirits, and we thank Kaua'i," said nurse Sandi Niitani.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.