To protest the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and preparedness for frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, registered nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital will hold a silent vigil and solidarity stand on Monday, March 30, 2020. Registered nurses are calling on Watsonville Community Hospital to reverse its decision to weaken personal protective equipment standards and cancel staff rather than preparing for a surge of COVID-19 patients. “Registered nurses take an oath to protect and advocate for our patients,” said Roseann Farris, RN in the Critical Care Unit. “The very last thing we should do right now is lower PPE protocols, weaken patient care standards and cancel our vital nurses. Nurses are on ground zero of this deadly novel coronavirus pandemic. We need hospital executives to do their duty to protect us and begin training and staffing for a surge so that we can honor our oath to care for our patients at the bedside.” Nurses will be available to speak with media during the shift change actions to describe current conditions, need for proper PPE, and staffing to safely care for patients during this national crisis and pandemic.

“Registered Nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital want to send our solidarity to all the fellow nurses and healthcare workers across the nation and around the world who have to fight to keep ourselves safe so we can care for our patients” said Gloria Amaya, a Registered Nurse who works in the Labor and Delivery Department. “Nurses on the front-line are calling for Employers to immediately provide the highest level of PPE, training and staffing now. Hospital executives need to do their job so we, as nurses and healthcare workers, can do our jobs to fight COVID-19 for our patients and public health.”

Who: Watsonville Community Hospital Registered Nurses
What: Silent Vigil and Solidarity Action with RN media availability to speak out against lack of PPE, staffing, and protections for frontline health care workers 
Where: Watsonville Community Hospital, 75 Nielson Street, Watsonville, CA. 95076. RNs will stand on Nielson street at the main entrance of the hospital and uphold six-foot social distancing.
When: Monday, March 30, 2020 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm