The Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) voted in favor of a new contract with Stanford Hospital & Clinics (SHC) and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) on Thursday, marking the end of more than a year of haggling and potential strikes.

This contract is set to fully replace the employee contract imposed on the nurses last February, which included the introduction of the Professional Nurse Development Program (PNCP).

Though originally a source of tension, recent proposed modifications to the Professional Nurse Development Program helped facilitate the contract’s approval. These modifications will enhance the ability of nurses with 20 or more years of service to achieve a higher nurse classification, wrote SHC spokeswoman Sarah Staley in an email to The Daily.

The new contract also prohibits changes to the nurse development program for the life of the contract — a condition the nursing union was adamant about including, said CRONA president Lorie Johnson.

The approved contract includes a retroactive 4-percent pay increase, which dates back to March 2010. Furthermore, wage increases between 2 and 4 percent will be implemented April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013.

“We believe that these tentative agreements reflect the high regard we have for our nursing staff,” Staley said, prior to the CRONA vote.

After the vote’s results were announced, Johnson, in a press release, described the contract negotiations as “a long and tumultuous process.”

“While the contract has many problems, we were able to make important improvements,” she said.