RNs at the Atlanta VA will rally to demand safe staffing

Nurses at Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center in Decatur, Ga., will hold a protest on Thursday, Nov. 14, outside their facility to speak out about their concerns regarding the VA budget, especially its impacts on short staffing, nurse retention, and nurses’ moral distress, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU).

“We have identified solutions that can support nurse retention at the Atlanta VA,” said Belinda Howard, RN in the Atlanta VA cardiology unit. “However, there's a lack of transparency that prevents nurses from fully understanding how and when budget concerns are addressed. If we were provided with adequate funding and a management team that communicated effectively, our hospital could become a much better environment for both veterans and nurses.”

Who: RNs represented by NNOC/NNU
What: Speak out and rally against budget crisis
When: Thursday, Nov. 14, 7:30 a.m.
Where: Atlanta VA, 1670 Clairmont Rd., Decatur, Ga.

Atlanta VA nurses say that a budget crisis is negatively impacting patient care at the Atlanta VA, as it’s leading to an unsafe staffing crisis and problems with important medical equipment. Nurses say they are experiencing moral distress, which drives nurses away from the facility despite common-sense solutions to alleviate the staffing crisis. While recruitment has improved, retention issues continue, as more than 70 nurses have left the Atlanta VA this year. 

“Atlanta VA nurses are glad to see newly recruited nurses coming through the doors,” said Teshara Felder, RN in the telemetry unit. “So, we want to speak out about this budget crisis to make sure we can keep those recruits long enough, so they become the experienced staff nurses who ensure high-quality veteran care.”

NNOC/NNU represents nearly 1,200 registered nurses at the Atlanta VA.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.