On October 30th, nurses across the 6 Tenet hospitals in California held a one day strike. Of these 6 hospitals, 2 are located in Riverside County. The full list of striking locations is below.
- San Ramon Medical Center (San Ramon)
- Doctors Hospital Manteca (Manteca)
- Doctors Medical Center (Modesto)
- Emanuel Medical Center (Turlock)
- Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs)
- Hi-Desert Medical Center (Joshua Tree)
The Inland Empire Labor Council, AFL-CIO stood with these nurses and visited the picket-line in Palm Springs, where we heard directly from nurses about their strike. Nurses spoke to us about Tenet’s constant use of nurse-to-patient ratio waivers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) — where babies are cared for. This means that babies have less caretakers than mandated, and NICU nurses have higher caseloads.
Patients and nurses alike suffer because of the chronic understaffing imposed by Tenet. Safe staffing was a key demand, among others included in their press release. Their complete demands are:
- Guaranteed meal- and rest-break coverage. Most nurses work 12-hour shifts and need time to eat and regroup so they can be present for all their patients.
- Improvements to recruitment and retention of experienced nurses. Experienced nurses are critical to safe patient care and serve as mentors to newer nurses.
- Lift teams to help with turning and lifting patients. Dedicated staff for the recurring task of lifting patients helps reduce injury to patients and nurses.
- Safe staffing at all times. When there are not adequate nurses and ancillary staff on a unit, patient care is delayed, which can lead to harm for our patients.
Workers were standing strong even in the 90 degree heat, showing Tenet that they were united, and ready to negotiate a strong contract. Keep supporting CNA as they continue on in contract negotiations, and stay updated by following them on social media.
