California Nurses Strike Over COVID Staff Shortages as ICU Capacity Falls to 1.7 Percent
On 12/16/20 at 6:08 AM EST
Nurses at three hospitals in Southern California are calling for a strike over staff shortages as intensive care unit availability falls dramatically amid a surge in COVID cases.
Some 2,500 nurses plan to walkout from Christmas Eve to January 3 amid anger over staffing rates and coronavirus safeguards, including PPE.
Last week California s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced an executive order that would see staffing ratios for nurses on ICU wards change from one nurse to every two patients, to one for every three. We need to temporarily, very short-term temporarily look a little bit differently in terms of our staffing needs, Gov. Newsom said yesterday as he explained the rationale behind the plan.
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NBC
Dec 15, 2020 10:55 AM ET
A nurses strike scheduled to begin on Christmas Eve threatens operations at three Southern California hospitals as the nurses allege that current work conditions harm staff safety amid the pandemic.
The Hospital Corporation of America on Monday received a 10-day notice of the intent to strike by about 2,450 registered nurses and licensed professionals across three of its hospitals, according to the SEIU Local 121 union chapter, which represents them. The strike would begin on Dec. 24 and continue through Jan. 3 at the Riverside Community Hospital, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, and West Hills Hospital & Medical Center…
Registered nurses have taken issue with “dangerously low staffing levels” and lack of adequate personal protective equipment that have put them at risk for infection as the coronavirus pandemic continues to overwhelm frontline workers, according to the union.
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With many intensive care units already at maximum capacity in the Inland Empire, doctors are warning that an increase in cases after Christmas and New Year s could be catastrophic.
The Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency is prioritizing staffing requests placed with the California Department of Public Health, and Barstow Community Hospital is currently their top priority. They ve supplied the hospital with at least eight additional ventilators.
Meanwhile, nurses with SEIU 121 RN have called for a 10-day strike at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Los Angeles and Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside.