Nurses at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank picketed the hospital Thursday, Dec. 15, claiming they’re understaffed and seeing incidents of workplace violence due to lapses in security.
Service Employees International Union 121 RN represents more than 900 nurses at the facility. They began negotiating for a new contract in July and were still in negotiations Wednesday. Their current labor contract expires Dec. 31.
Nurses say lax security at the 466-bed facility has created an unsafe environment for hospital staff. That, coupled with the hospital’s failure to retain staff, has led to employee burnout, they said, which has created “an unsustainable situation for the safety of nurses and patients alike.”
On bad days, nurses will sometimes work 10 hours before getting a lunch break, a nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit, said. (Photo courtesy of Service Employees International Union 121 RN)
Anjelica Jackson, a charge nurse in the ER department, recalled an Oct. 18 incident that occurred when a patient was brought to the emergency room by ambulance.
“He had a gun and barricaded himself in the bathroom,” the 29-year-old Sylmar resident said. “Burbank police arrived and eventually subdued him — but that was after an hour of negotiations.”
Jackson said the experience was terrifying.
“It was scary, not only for me but for patients and my staff,” she said. “And our director wanted us to resume business as usual.”
A similar incident occurred about a week later, Jackson said, when another man slipped through security with a gun. He was also subdued.
“We have a metal detector in the front of the ER and a (security screening) wand in the back of the ER department, but there’s no formal screening process for people who are brought in by ambulance,” she said.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Providence said it strives to ensure the hospital is properly staffed and works “tirelessly to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.”
Management said patient care would not be affected during Thursday’s rally, as nurses and other employees were expected to work their normal schedules.
“The hospital respects its employees and their right to participate in union activities but prefers negotiating in person rather than through tactics aimed at influencing public opinion,” the statement said.
Connor Palacio, a nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit, said he found out about the two weapon incidents second-hand.
“The hospital didn’t notify us of any of this,” the 28-year-old Sherman Oaks resident said. “I had to find out from coworkers. Security wasn’t responding promptly enough and didn’t tell anyone. There was no transparency.”
Palacio also spoke of inadequate staffing, saying MRI scans and other patient procedures are often delayed due to a staffing shortage.
“On bad days, nurses will sometimes work 10 hours before getting a lunch break,” he said. “And we’ll often be out of ratio. There is supposed to be two patients for every ICU nurse, but some days we’ll have three patients, and that can be bad if a patient has an emergency and you still have to take care of your other patients.”
Palacio said his main goal is to see better nurse retention.
“Almost all of my peers have left,” he said. “Some were burned out and moved on because they felt they are better appreciated at another facility.”
In recent months, healthcare workers throughout Southern California have lobbied for increased staffing, higher wages and more affordable benefits.
Nearly 400 nursing assistants, surgical technicians, pharmacists, dietitians, lab assistants and others at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital launched a five-day strike Monday, Dec. 12, claiming they’re underpaid and understaffed to the point where patient care is being compromised.
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“We’re struggling to keep up, and people are leaving because they just can’t afford to work here,” said Eric Melo, an emergency room technician at the Marina del Rey hospital.
Licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, surgical and imaging technicians and other employees at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center picketed their facility Wednesday, Dec. 7, saying they’re understaffed and paid far less than employees doing the same work at other Southland hospitals.