Providence Memorial RNs to Hold Protest Wednesday, Oct. 21
Nurses Rally to Ensure Safe Staffing, Top Quality Care

 
To draw attention to issues that would help ensure safe patient care, registered nurses at Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus will hold a protest on Wednesday, October 21, National Nurses United announced today.

“Our nurses are standing together to let the community know about how consistent staffing levels at the hospital and proper stocking of supplies are necessary to uphold top quality care for patients,” said Sandy Wakefield, RN. “Right now, these issues need to be addressed, and as patient advocates, we know it’s part of our job to speak up.”
 
What:             Protest by Nurses at Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus  
When:            Wednesday, October 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where:           Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus, 2001 N. Oregon St, El Paso, TX 79902

Nurses say that specific issues they will bring to light include:

• Staffing in the Operating Room: The hospital, nurses say, has been using the on-call team (nurses who are supposed to be on stand by for emergencies)—to staff elective surgeries. Nurses are asking the hospital to staff enough non-emergency nurses for elective procedures—leaving the on-call staff available to care for patients who require emergency care.
• Staffing in Labor and Delivery: Nurses say that staffing levels in Labor and Delivery are often not at the hospital’s own stated optimal levels. They are calling on the hospital for a commitment not to schedule inductions and non-emergency cesarian sections unless additional RN staffing has been secured to handle the patient influx.
• Staffing and supplies in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): According to nurses, staff levels in the NICU are also often not at the hospital’s own stated optimal levels. In one shift, for example, the NICU was down by 8 nurses. RNs want a commitment from the hospital to address this gap. Additionally, nurses are calling for proper stocking of supplies. A recent dearth of a specific piece of equipment left nurses to care for a baby using a replacement supply with which they were unfamiliar.

“As nurses, we are able to provide the best possible care when we have adequate access to the supplies and equipment we need—specifically supplies in which we already have training. That’s what our patients deserve, and that’s what we are asking the hospital to provide,” said Suzanne Sedillo, RN.