Nurses at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., will hold an informational picket on April 27 to protest chronic short staffing and the administration’s refusal to address RNs’ deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU).

“Every day, nurses are required to care for more patients than California’s safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratio law allows,” said Emma Santiago, RN, who works in Centinela’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. “This means we are unable to provide the safe patient care our community deserves. We go home feeling guilty, exhausted, and morally distressed”.

• Who: Registered nurses at Centinela Hospital Medical Center
• What: Informational picket for patient safety and a fair contract
• When: Wednesday, April 27, 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
• Where: Centinela Hospital Medical Center, 555 E. Hardy St., Inglewood, Calif., 90301, by the Emergency Department Entrance.

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Centinela Hospital nurses have been in negotiations for a new contract since November 2021 with little to no movement on key issues. The RNs urge management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that:

• Supports patient safety and safe staffing
• Allows nurses to provide safe and therapeutic care
• Provides pandemic readiness protections
• Guarantees no takeaways
• Resolves wage and retirement disparities to help recruit and retain highly skilled nurses

"Nurses are being forced to care for too many patients at once, and often without meals and breaks,” said Muhammad Azzalarab, RN, who works in the Intensive Care Unit. “We have many new grads with only one or two months of experience given assignments with minimal orientation and no competencies. Nurses are leaving in droves as a result of management’s unsafe and stressful working conditions."

“We know safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios save lives,” said Shamma Singh, RN, who works in the Labor and Delivery department. “It’s time the hospital stops the exodus of experienced nurses and starts negotiating a contract that takes a proactive approach to the staffing crisis.”

CNA represents nearly 400 nurses at Centinela Hospital Medical Center.

The 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 more than 175,000 RNs nationwide.