TAKING A STAND—Nurses and their supporters picket during an Aug. 6 protest at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers
Registered nurses at Dignity Health hospitals in Camarillo, Oxnard and Northridge have staged protests against what they say are dangerously low staffing levels.
Nurses represented by the Pasadena-based Service Employees International Union Local 121RN targeted the three facilities for the daylong marches, beginning July 31 at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where nurses protested over staffing cuts and a lack of security, union officials said.
The protests continued Aug. 1 at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and on Aug. 6 at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo.
The nurses, whose union is negotiating a new contract with Dignity Health, accuse the San Francisco-based nonprofit, formerly known as Catholic Healthcare West, of prioritizing its profit margin over the safety and well-being of patients.
“When we survey our nurses, patient safety continues to be the No. 1 complaint,” union spokesperson Terry Carter said. “Yes, of course we’re also negotiating over salaries, but they really want movement on the corner-cutting that’s going on today in the healthcare industry.”
Don Hadland, a registered nurse in St. John Pleasant Valley’s emergency room since 1999, said staffing shortages have led to situations that put both patients and nurses at risk.
“I was kicked in the head while trying to restrain a violent patient . . . and security was nowhere around,” he said. “When that happens, it’s not the patient’s fault—it’s Dignity’s fault.”
Security guards aren’t the only hospital support staff being reduced as a way to boost Dignity’s bottom line, Carter said.
“They’re laying off nurses’ aides, they’re laying off the monitor techs, they’re laying off the orderlies, the housekeeping— they’re cutting, cutting, cutting,” she said.
The nurses also accuse Dignity Health of not having enough nurses on duty at peak times.
“They’ll send nurses home and then, later in the day, they have a full unit and they’re understaffed. It’s really affecting nursing care,” Carter said.
Asked specifically about the union’s claims of staffing shortages and potential risks to patient safety, Megan Maloney, senior director of marketing and communications for Dignity Health, did not respond to the allegations and instead emailed a statement from the company apologizing “to our patients, physicians and staff for any inconvenience this informational picket may cause.”
“We believe the best place to resolve differences and achieve an agreement is at the bargaining table; however, please know this informational picket will not impact patient care in any way. We remain dedicated to serving our patients with high-quality and excellent care,” the statement said.
Dignity Health has 39 hospitals and 400 care clinics in California, Nevada and Arizona, according to its website.
Although California law sets standards for nurse-to-patient ratios, most hospitals simply ignore them, Carter said.
She said the unionized nurses support a pending bill, SB 227, which would require state Department of Public Health inspectors to verify whether hospitals are complying with nurse-to-patient standards.
Hospitals that don’t comply could face administrative penalties, the bill states.
Authored by state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Pomona), SB 227 was approved by the Senate in May and is now awaiting a possible vote in the Assembly.