Registered nurses will hold a rally May 28 in El Paso urging the Tenet-affiliated Hospitals of Providence, Sierra andMemorial Campuses, to invest in nursing staff. This will improve the recruitment and retention of experienced RNs, and ensure optimal patient care, say nurses.

The rally will coincide with informational pickets on May 28 at 12 other Tenet hospitals in Arizona, Florida and California. 

“We are holding a rally to urge our hospitals to prioritize investing in the nursing staff,” said Patricia Crooks, an RN in the delivery unit at Hospitals of Providence Memorial campus. “This will strengthen recruitment and retention of experienced nurses and make it possible to bring staffing into alignment with what research shows is optimal for patient care.”

What: Registered nurses rally for optimal patient care.
When: TODAY - Tuesday, May 28 – 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Where: San Jacinto Plaza, 114 N. Mills Street, El Paso.

According to well-established research there is a clear link between RN staffing levels and good patient outcomes.  For example, research shows that every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical/surgical unit, including oncology units, could increase mortality by seven percent per patient. 

At the Hospitals of Providence Sierra campus the staffing grid allows for up to six patients in the medical/surgical units.  At the Memorial campus the staffing grid allows for five patients per nurse in medical/oncology, including pediatric oncology. Research recommends that when a child is receiving chemotherapy a nurse should be assigned to that child without additional patient assignments. When an RN is administering chemo to a child under a 1:5 ratio,they must divide their attention between the child and four other patients, or ask another nurse on the unit to care for four of their patients, which would bring that nurses’ patient load up to nine children. 

Research has also shown that the best patient assignment ratio in a progressive care unit (PCU), which is just one step down from the ICU in terms of patient acuity, is one nurse for every three patients.  At both the Sierra and Memorial Campuses the staffing grid calls for one nurse for up to five patients in the PCU. 

“We are holding a rally to let our patients know that we are dedicated to providing them with the best care possible, “said Monica Martell, an RN in the ICU at the Sierra campus. “We are honored to serve this community through our patient advocacy.”

The 679 RNs that work at both hospitals are members of National Nurses Organizing Committee, NNOC/Texas which is affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest and fastest growing union of registered nurses in the United States with 150,000 members. NNU plays a leadership role in safeguarding the health and safety of RNs and their patients and has won landmark legislation in the areas of staffing, safe patient handling, infectious disease and workplace violence prevention.