To avoid further harm to patients, RNs call for immediate changes to Emergency Department management

Registered nurses at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside will hold a press conference today to voice alarm over operations of the hospital's Emergency Department and call for immediate changes to the department's management.

RNs at TCMC have been documenting and reporting unsafe conditions to the manager of the emergency department for the past five months. The unit is chronically overcrowded with inadequate levels of appropriate personnel and security. Patients are regularly left in the emergency room for over 23 hours, in some cases for up to three days, in possible violation of the law.

"The poor management of TCMC's Emergency Department is endangering patients on a daily basis," said Lori Rachac, an RN in the ED. "As RNs we feel compelled to let the public know what is going on here because management has absolutely refused to take any action to rectify the situation."

"We have met with management and made concrete recommendations for improving current conditions," said Brenda Ham, who has been an RN at TCMC for 32 years. "We are now calling for immediate changes in managment of the Emergency Department."

What:      Press Conference: Nurses, community members call for immediate removal of Emergency Department manage
When:     Today, Sept. 15, 2014 – 12 noon      
Where:    Tri-City Medical Center, 4002 Vista Way, Oceanside, Ca

 Joining the RNs at the press conference will be Jane Mitchell,  a candidate for the Tri-City Healthcare District Board election in November. Mitchell is part of a slate of candidates that seeks to refocus ands strengthen the hospital district board's commitment to assuring that TCMC remain a community-based hospital dedicated to quality care. A representative of the Firefighters Union in Oceanside will also join the nurses to show concern for the conditions in the ED and support for the nurses' recommendations.

The emergency department also lacks adequate numbers of CNA's or Certified Nursing Assistants, referred to as "sitters," to supervise patients. This leads to numerous problems including, security personnel being pulled away from providing security to work instead as sitters, management expecting RNs, who are already supervising the legal maximum of patients, to supervise additional patients, or leaving patients without any supervision at all.

In addition to calling for immediate changes in Emergency Department management, the nurses are recommending:

    •    Open a new Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) to attend specifically to 51/50 patients.
    •    Reopen the third floor to handle overflow of ED patients.
    •    Place security personnel ouside in patient waiting room as well as inside the ER.
    •    Use dedicated CNA's (Certified Nursing Assistants) as sitters 1 on 1, rather than using security guards in this capacity.