Nurses are protesting working conditions at a wide variety of hospitals across the nation, claiming their COVID-19-related safety concerns aren’t being adequately addressed.
In Philadelphia, more than 2,500 nurses at four hospitals in the area plan on going on strike in the coming days, reports WHYY. Their main concern is adequate staffing on the hospital floor, which they say has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Although some of the hospitals use staffing grids, which mandate the number of patients one nurse cares for, some nurses claim those grids aren’t being honored.
So far, the nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Bucks County, Mercy Fitzgerald in Delaware County, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Einstein Medical Center have voted to strike.
In Reno, Nevada, on Friday, staff from Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center demonstrated outside the hospital’s grounds, reports ThisIsReno.com. Nurses picketed the medical center over staffing levels and an alleged lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). They protested in May over the same issues.
St. Mary’s said in a statement, however, that its “PPE practices exceed recommendations provided by CDC guidelines in this current pandemic.”
In Davis, California, University of California Davis Medical Center nurses held a rally on Tuesday demanding COVID-related administrative leave.
“We are exhausted,” Jenny Managhebi, a registered nurse, told KFBK. “Our families need us now more than ever. As health care providers, we understand that we can only give the best care to our patients, when we can care for ourselves.”
In Santa Monica, California, registered nurses rallied outside a COVID-19 testing site on Tuesday. They demanded timely access to testing after UCLA officials recently announced plans to test students, faculty and staff who come on campus, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press.
The nurses want UCLA’s healthcare workers to have the same level of access to coronavirus testing. According to an email sent October 22 by UCLA officials, people who visit the university’s campus at least once a week, except for UCLA Health employees, must schedule weekly coronavirus tests, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press.
