County Loses Effort to Block Walkout, More Talks Today, RNs Call on County To Address Key Issues to Settle Dispute

Registered nurses who work at San Bernardino County’s Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and clinics across the county remain on track to begin a two-day strike Tuesday after county officials lost two court efforts Friday and earlier today to enjoin the walkout.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which represents 1,250 county RNs, says there is still time to prevent the strike if the county will end its stubborn bargaining stance and work with the RNs to resolve the key problems that have led to the loss of many experienced RNs and have put quality care for community residents at risk.

An additional meeting between the county and nurses is being held today. CNA called on the county to immediately improve working conditions for county RNs in order to stop the hemorrhaging of experienced RNs to private hospitals.

Ironically, the county’s Chief Executive Officer is asking the Board of Supervisors for an emergency commitment of $4 million to hire replacement RNs for the strike.

“That same commitment of funding would go a long way to reducing the enormous wage disparities between RNs who work for the public, at county facilities, and the surrounding private hospitals that is a key factor in the dispute,” said CNA co-president Zenei Cortez, RN.

“It is disgraceful that the county would readily find the resources for other nurses rather than providing for the regular RNs many of whom have devoted years of service to the county and county residents and patients,” Cortez said.

CNA notes there is a 30 percent wage gap for county RNs compared to the nearby private hospitals – a disparity that rises as high as 52 percent for some of the most experienced RNs – that has contributed to a serious drain of RNs who leave the county to work in other local hospitals. 

“Eroding conditions jeopardize the county’s mission statement of “providing quality health care — to the residents of San Bernardino County” at its safety net hospital and outpatient clinics. The essential element in the ability to provide quality health care is the expertise of the registered nurses. Sadly, the county is not investing in its loyal, experienced registered nurses and the loss of experienced nurses leads to a number of patient safety problems,” said Becky Spradling, RN. 

For example, the county wants to require nurses to work in units far outside their area of clinical expertise, such as having maternity care RNs care for very different extremely ill cancer or intensive care patients. The county restricted this unsafe practice in our prior contract, but is now demanding this protection be eliminated to make up for inadequate staffing and high turnover.

“Recently graduated nurses, who find a first job with the county, and now make up 20 percent of the workforce, repeatedly move on to better standards at other hospitals. As a result, the county has essentially become a training center for the area’s private hospitals. Taxpayers are subsidizing the private sector hospitals by training the RNs for them,” said Toni Rodriguez, RN.  

According to the county’s own data, there were 144 new hires in the past year, suggesting an 11.5 percent turnover rate, well above the statewide and Southern California average. The problem is especially pronounced in some of the most critical care units, such as surgical intensive care where 90 percent of the RNs are new.

Nurses have been in negotiations with the County for 14 months and have been working without a contract since June.

San Bernardino County operates numerous clinics throughout the county as well as ARMC, a full-service, acute care hospital in Colton, Ca.