RNs at Good Samaritan Hospital to protest management's failure to address chronic short-staffing, jeopardizing patient care

Registered nurses who work at HCA’s Good Samaritan Hospital, in San Jose, Calif., will hold a rally on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to protest management’s failure to address chronic short-staffing and lack of meal and break relief, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today.

For months, nurses have filed more than 100 assignment despite objection forms (known as ADOs), documenting unsafe staffing and missed meal and rest breaks. Nurses say management is violating the state’s safe staffing law by failing to take into account patient acuity – a measure of how sick a patient is. Despite raising the issues about unsafe staffing repeatedly with management, the hospital continues to disregard nurses’ input in staffing decisions. Title 22, the RN-to-patient ratios law, requires minimum, specific, numerical RN-to-patient ratios for acute-care hospitals.

“It is critical that RNs have input in how staffing is done at the hospital to ensure the safety of patients,” said Stephanie Landry, RN in the float pool unit who has worked at Good Samaritan for 16 years. “When patients are very sick, they require more care, and that means more nurses. Understaffing is a dangerous practice and undermines nurses’ ability to provide proper care based on our patients’ acuity. We expect HCA to do better for the community and patients. That’s why we are holding a rally to bring the public's attention to these unsafe practices and foster change.”

Who: RNs at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose
What: Rally for patient safety
When: Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Where: Good Samaritan Hospital, 2425 Samaritan Dr, San Jose, CA 95124, (sidewalk on Samaritan Drive, between ER and East Entrance to the hospital)

“State law requires that registered nurses have input in how the hospital is staffed,” said Lydia Vasovich-Gmerek, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit who has worked at Good Sam for 37 years. “Based on our responsibility to the best interest of the patients under our license and oath as nurses, our voices are crucial for safe patient care. HCA prioritizes profits over the safety of our patients. This hurts the community and puts patients at risk. We rally to change these dangerous staffing practices that HCA tries to normalize. Patient safety and proper care should be in everyone's best interest. HCA needs to do better.”

CNA represents more than 900 registered nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.