TACOMA, Wash. – St. Joseph Medical Center nurses and their supporters held an informational picket on November 1, calling for better working conditions to address workplace violence and understaffing.
The approximately 1,200 registered nurses, who are represented by the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), said they are regularly dealing with violent incidents. The nurses want metal detectors and security officers who can disarm patients.
One emergency room nurse said a patient recently grabbed a pair of scissors and threatened to stab people. The nurse said security officers at the hospital didn’t step in, so the nurse had to disarm the patient himself, according to the WSNA.
In another workplace violence incident, a patient with a drug problem came into the emergency room with a loaded gun in a fanny pack across their chest. That incident followed an incident last December, when a gun was fired in the hospital, reports KIRO7.
Additionally, the nurses said their cars are frequently broken into, with some finding people in their vehicles. The parking lots are supposed to be secured.
Nurses Union in Contract Negotiations
The picket came one day after the nurses’ contract ended. WSNA has been negotiating with St. Joseph Medical Center since August, reports NWPB.
WSNA and the nurses also claim the hospital is understaffed and are asking for “evidence-based ratios for the number of nurses to patients.”
According to WSNA, “Management has increased the number of trauma cases seen at the hospital by 100% and is proposing cutting nursing assistants that make nurses’ work possible.” Additionally, last week four nurses in the cardiovascular intensive care unit quit, and the hospital no longer has travel nurses.
“We are not able to give patients the care they deserve,” Kathleen Jabasa, a nurse in the operating room, told The Stand. “We are not being nurses but robots.”
The union said it is hoping to avoid a strike but is not ruling it out.
