RNs demand safe staffing and improved working conditions to keep patients and staff safe

Registered nurses who work in acute care inpatient and outpatient units with the Tri-City Healthcare District in Oceanside, Calif., will hold a speak-out on Wednesday, May. 1, to demand hospital and district officials address ongoing staffing and health and safety concerns. These issues have intensified over the past few months and jeopardize patient care, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today

For the past year, nurses have attempted to resolve their serious concerns by circulating petitions, taking a vote of “no confidence” in the emergency department leadership, and delivering more than 100 assignment despite objection forms documenting unsafe staffing, and filing grievances to hospital administration.

“The current nursing and health care staff is stretched beyond our limits and yet is continuously being asked to do more with fewer resources,” said Doris Turner, RN, who works in the emergency department at Tri-City Medical Center. “We know that the Tri-City Healthcare District has fiscal challenges, but it has the resources and enough RNs to provide safe staffing levels for our community. The district needs to prioritize the safety of everyone — patients and staff.”

Who: Tri-City Healthcare District RNs
What: RNs to hold speak-out to demand safe staffing and improved working conditions to provide quality care
When: Wednesday, May. 1 at 8 a.m.
Where: Tri-City Medical Center Medical Center 4002 Vista Way, Oceanside
(Near the main hospital lobby entrance lawn)

Tri-City RNs also report that due to chronic short staffing, they sometimes miss their meal or rest breaks. Numerous studies show that nurses who are fatigued are more likely to miss important cues when assessing their patients or make errors when providing care. In addition to missed breaks, nurses have documented the recent decrease on many shifts of lift personnel to assist with personal care of patients and the lack of safe transport of patients.

“We care for the public every day in our hospital. As patient advocates, we are the first line of defense against potential harm,” said Rosenda McDowell, RN in the progressive care unit. “We demand that Tri-City administration maintain and improve our safe patient care standards. No excuses. We don’t want to see patient falls or increased pressure sores because of rollbacks to core staff.”

“We are standing up for our patients,” said Ingrid Corona, RN in the telemetry unit and chief nurse representative at Tri-City Medical Center for CNA. “We know that being unrelenting in our push for safe staffing is the only way to provide the quality care our patients urgently need in Oceanside, Vista, and Carlsbad.

“We want our community to know the nursing staff will be standing outside because something is wrong inside,” said Turner. “We want to provide the best and safest possible patient care when you come to our hospital.”

CNA represents more than 400 nurses in the Tri-City Healthcare District.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.