BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday praised the tentative contract reached late Wednesday between Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and its nurses, a deal that called off an open-ended strike hours before it was set to begin.

"I'm pleased that the Brigham and Women's administration and nurses have reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike and keeping the focus on protecting care for patients and families," Healey said in a statement posted to social media.

Healey said she had met with both sides and urged them to stay at the table and keep working in good faith. She and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appeared at Monday's negotiating session, State House News Service reported.

"Our nurses are essential to our health care system, and this is an important step toward ensuring stability at the hospital and the continuity of care that patients depend on," Healey said.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents more than 4,000 nurses at the hospital, and Mass General Brigham reached the agreement around 11 p.m. Wednesday, Boston 25 News reported. Nurses had planned to walk out at 7 a.m. Thursday in what WBUR said would have been the largest strike in state history.

The deal still needs a vote by the nurses in the bargaining unit, and the union's bargaining committee has recommended they ratify it. Members voted down Mass General Brigham's previous offer last month, The Signal reported in October.

What's in the deal

According to highlights released by the union and reported by Boston 25 News and WBUR, the contract would run through Sept. 30, 2028. Nurses below the top of the pay scale would get a $1,000 bonus, prorated by hours, once the contract is ratified, and new top pay steps 2.5% higher would be added on Nov. 15 and again on Sept. 30, 2027.

The hospital would commit in contract language not to replace permanent nurses with temporary ones and would post 20 new float pool positions, the union said. A proposed increase in the share of Harvard Pilgrim premiums paid by current nurses was dropped, though nurses newly hired into 40-hour positions would pay 2.5% of the premium for single coverage.

The hospital said the agreement fits within the financial limits of its Oct. 10 "last, best and final" offer, Boston 25 News reported.

"We deeply value our Brigham nurses and believe this agreement recognizes their important contributions while supporting the long-term sustainability of our hospital and our ability to care for our patients and communities," the hospital said in a statement.

"I'm incredibly proud of the Brigham nurses who stood strong to protect the world-class patient care we provide," Kelly Morgan, a labor and delivery nurse who chairs the union's bargaining committee, said in a statement reported by The Boston Globe.

The agreement follows about a year of talks and 29 bargaining sessions, including a 15-hour session Monday, WBUR reported. Nurses held a one-day strike in July and were then kept out of the hospital for four more days, and the union called off an open-ended strike planned for Oct. 14 so members could vote on the hospital's offer.