More than 750 nurses at nine hospitals in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia dropped their  stethoscopes and walked out at 12:01 a.m. today after negotiations over a new contract with  Appalachian Regional Healthcare stalled last week.

Pat Tanner, a negotiator with the West Virginia and Kentucky Nurses Associations, said late last night that efforts to bring the not-for-profit hospital chain back to the bargaining table Saturday failed,  and that  without a new contract, the nurses were prepared to go on strike after midnight.