Alejandra González Huitrón, a 7-month-pregnant nurse, who works in the Covid Unit of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, was one of the hundreds of nurses who stood this Thursday in front of to their work centers to protest a new state measure that obliges them to work, being positive for the virus, if they do not show symptoms.
“It is very dangerous to come to work sick with covid. It can be fatal for us and for patients, especially for cancer patients, “says González Huitrón, who has been a registered nurse for 7 years.
Several simultaneous demonstrations outside hospitals in the south of California were held to protest against the decision of the Department of Public Health to make them work when they test positive or have been exposed to COVID – 19 if they do not present symptoms.
The protest action was organized by two powerful unions, the Sindicato de California Nurses (CNA) and the National Nurses United (NNU).
“I love my job, but the fact that they want to make us work with covid patients, as a pregnant woman puts me at risk” , says González Huitrón.
He admits that he is a little afraid because the cases continue to rise. “It was very unfair to me that the governor punished the nurses, forcing us to work with covid patients instead of putting restrictions on large meetings, such as concerts and other massive events.”
He urged Governor Newsom to remove that measure. “If we get sick, who is going to take care of the patients?”
Jennifer Delisle, registered nurse, demanded Governor Newsom, at the Hospital del Good Samaritan and the entire hospital industry to start providing nurses.
“There is a moral crisis. Nurses are choosing to work in offices or other positions instead of caring for patients, because hospitals are not providing enough help; and sometimes, there are not the necessary nurses to take care of the patients ”.
He says that they are also violating the title 22 which in California states that for a flat like the one she works in, the surgical doctor, there are 5 patients per nurse. “They are putting 6 or 7 patients for a nurse. It is a danger, a very serious situation. It is impossible to offer the quality care that each patient deserves like this. ”
Emphasizes that the new rule that establishes that nurses can work with covid, puts patients at risk.
“A patient comes to the hospital because he is sick and needs to feel better, and if he sees that his doctors and nurses are not feeling well, anxiety increases.”
Due throughout the pandemic, explain that the nurses are tired. And they are so overworked that sometimes they can’t even take time off or eat, says Delisle.
“And if they give us time to eat, we are worried, because there is a nurse taking care of our patients, and hers.”
He points out that it is not fair that two years after the pandemic began, they are wanting to endanger health personnel.
“And it’s not that there are no nurses. That is a lie from the hospital industry. What there is not, there are enough nurses who want to risk their health and that of their relatives to work in a place where they do not receive support to provide quality care. ”
According to the Nurses Union , almost two years after the covid pandemic – 22, the United States is not experiencing a shortage of nurses, “it’s just a shortage of nurses willing not to risk their licenses or the safety of their patients while working under the unsafe conditions imposed by for-profit employers. ”
They point out that employers are seeking to make the personnel crisis the new normal and a great threat to patients in the country.
“Everyone will need medical attention at some point in their life, and when our loved ones dear ones are in the hospital, we want the nurses to be able to provide the care that patients deserve ”, says Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, president of NNU.
“But employers have prioritized profits over safety and patient care. They have made cuts in staffing since long before Covid, and with the pandemic still in full swing, they are pushing away desperately needed nurses. ”
For these reasons, the 13 of January, says they stood up to say “Enough! to the greed of employers and to demand secure staffing now. ”
To capture the full movie of the current staffing crisis , the NNU conducted a survey of thousands of registered nurses across the country from October to December 2021.
Of the nurses who answered, 82. 5% said that in at least half of their days they did not have enough personnel.
Studies have shown that when nurses are assigned too many patients to care for them at the same time, they put them at high risk of making preventable medical errors, avoidable complications, increases the length of stay in the hospital, readmissions and even death.
In the recent survey, the 68% said they have considered quitting their job, something they haven’t It would consider whether hospitals immediately improve working conditions, increase staffing levels and follow the advice of the nurses themselves to grow the pool of available health personnel.