Registered nurses at Southern California Hospital at Culver City will hold a socially distant action on Thursday, Feb. 18 to demand safe staffing, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today.

The hospital’s waiver to violate the state’s nurse-to-patient staffing law (or “ratios”) expired on Feb. 11, 2021, but management continued to assign nurses additional patients in violation of the law.

Nurses in Medical Surgery, Telemetry, Step Down, ICU, and Psychology are now caring for 17 percent to 67 percent more patients above the state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios. In Medical Surgery, which also serves as a Covid-19 unit, nurses are caring for 50 percent more patients. These nurses face unsafe staffing 24/7 at the hospital, but the situation is even worse for night shift nurses who have even less staff and resources to care for patients.

Who: RNs, concerned community, patients and families
What: Socially distant protest to demand safe staffing
When:  Thursday, Feb. 18, 8 a.m.
Where: Southern California Hospital at Culver City, Delmas Terrace Entrance (across the Emergency Department) 3828 Delmas Terrace, Culver City, CA 90232

“It is unconscionable that management at Southern California Hospital at Culver City told nurses that they had a waiver when they didn’t,” said Cary Hill, RN at Southern California Hospital at Culver City. “The hospital needs to put patients first. Understaffing can lead to poor patient outcomes. Nurses want to provide safe patient care.”

The nurses say that safe staffing saves lives. Studies have shown that California’s landmark safe staffing law has resulted in up to 14 percent fewer patient deaths than in comparable hospitals, assured nurses more time to spend with patients, and kept nurses at the bedside far longer.

CNA/NNU represents more than 300 nurses at Southern California Hospital at Culver City.