"We’re almost at the level we need to be at for a long-term walkout,’’ said Francis R. Dietz, the hospital president. As of yesterday morning, there were just 47 patients in medical and surgical beds, and 4 or 5 patients in the intensive care unit, Dietz said.

Dietz said the goal is to shrink the number of patients so that the few that remain in the hospital can receive quality care from the nurse managers and doctors who will remain on duty if unionized employees strike

In press release today, the hospital vowed not to compromise patient care and is "standing firm" on what it says is the one remaining issue in dispute -- mandatory overtime for nurses.

At an afternoon rally, the leaders of three unions, including Stan Israel of District 1199 and Debbie Ruggierio of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, voiced solidarity with the nurses, and two state legislators promised to reintroduce bills restricting mandatory overtime at hospital throughout the state.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol, and Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr., D-Smithfield, would prohibit a hospitalt from requiring hourly employees who provide direct medical care to patients to work beyond their scheduled 8-, 10- or 12-hour shifts except in emergencies. The legislation passed unanimously in the House but died in the Senate, where Tassoni said it arrived too late in the session for review.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci