“We are here today to advocate for our patients and our community. We are here to tell the public about unsafe conditions at Jackson Park Hospital,” said Diane Hibbler, an RN in the Jackson Park Hospital (JPH) Emergency Room.

Hibbler was speaking to a crowd of registered nurses and media gathered this morning for a press conference in front of the south side Chicago hospital. Their gathering marked the official announcement that years’ worth of forms documenting unsafe staffing and dangerous patient care conditions—long ignored by administration—will be delivered to the Illinois Department of Public Health and other regulatory agencies.

“We have been meeting with Hospital Administrators for months. We have told them over and over that unsafe conditions need to be fixed. The hospital has not corrected these issues,” said Hibbler. “We now have no choice. We need to report these conditions to government agencies and to the public.”

In a letter officially sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health today, the JPH RNs cited 28 documented instances of unsafe staffing, all previously reported to management, serving to prove what the nurses say, “that Jackson Park Hospital’s staffing crisis is intentional.  Management’s repeated assertions that the facility is appropriately staffed belie the fact that every unit and every shift is understaffed routinely.”

Other regulatory agencies contacted will include the Joint Commission and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The reports span hospital units, including Psychiatric, Intensive Care, Medical/Surgical, Mother/Baby and the ER.

“When nurses, patients and the community stand up together, we’re an unstoppable force for change,” Jackson Park RN Theresa Ivery told this morning’s crowd. Local Mental Health Movement spokeswoman N’Dana Carter joined Ivery and Hibbler, speaking about the importance of not only keeping mental health services open, but making sure they are safe and effective.

Nurses say that their outspoken stand, on behalf of patients, seems to be making some initial inroads with management, noting that as of this morning (the day management was aware that they were going public), additional staff had been provided in the ER, and additional security staff were present and making rounds. Still, they are committed to advocating until all safe-staffing concerns are addressed.

“As part of our efforts, we will be actively cooperating with regulatory agencies,” Ivery emphasized, at the close of the event. “Until Jackson Park does the right thing and makes needed changes and as long as there are conditions that need fixing, nurses will be speaking out and working to fix them!”