Registered nurses at Research Medical Center will hold an informational picket and rally on Thursday to urge that the hospital consistently comply with its own staffing plan to improve the recruitment and retention of experienced RNs.

“As RNs we are committed to quality patient care and that includes advocating that the hospital consistently comply with its staffing plan," said Bessie Gray an RN in the Labor and Delivery Unit. "Staffing is a key ingredient for timely, safe care. For example, when the hospital is in compliance, nurses can take meal breaks so they remain alert and focused on the job," said Gray, who has been an RN for 36 years. 

What: Registered nurses hold informational picket and rally 
When: Thursday - August 20, 5 - 8 p.m. 
Where: Research Medical Center, 2316 East Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. (on the Meyer Blvd. sidewalk directly in front of the hospital.)

One purpose of hospital staffing plans is to assure that there are enough nurses to attend to patients' needs in a safe and timely way, taking under consideration the kinds of care required in each unit including the degree of acuity or sickness.  Data supplied from the hospital indicates that Research Medical Center is regularly out of compliance with its own staffing plan. 

For example, between Dec 1, 2014 and Feb 28, 2015, in the Progressive Care Unit, where patients are very ill, the hospital was out of compliance 122 shifts out of 180 shifts, or 68% of the time. During the month of December 2014, the Orthopedic Neurology Trauma Unit was out of compliance 12 out of 25 shifts, or 48% of the time. In the same month, the Nephrology Metabolic Unit, which cares for high acuity patients with kidney transplants and diabetic and dialysis patients, was out of compliance 30 out of 57 shifts or 53% of the time. 

When a hospital is out of compliance with its staffing plan, nurses are also more likely to miss rest and meal breaks.  Research shows that these breaks are vital to prevent fatigue that contributes to medical errors and injury to patients and staff. 

According to data from the hospital, in a recent 97-day period, between Nov. 25, 2014 and March 2, 2015, nurses recorded missing 87 of the 194 meal breaks that should have been taken in the Ortho Trauma Unit alone. Nurses missed their meal breaks, during what are mostly twelve-hour shifts, because there was no relief nurse to attend to their patients. 

The Research Medical Center nurses are also asking the hospital to address the dismal wage conditions for RNs in Missouri, which contribute to high turnover rates and loss of experienced RNs. Research Medical Center can play a leadership role in the state, nurses say, by aligning wages with the national average. Currently Missouri ranks 40th compared to other states in terms of RN pay and pays approximately $3.00 below the national average.  
     
The 610 registered nurses at Research Medical Center affiliated with the National Nurses Organizing Committee, NNOC/MO, are in ongoing contract negotiations and their contract expired May 31, 2015. NNOC/MO is affiliated with National Nurses United, the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States with 186,000 members.