The nursing situation in America is precarious. We do not have enough nurses
as it is, and the expectation of increased burden on our healthcare system by
the rapidly aging baby boomer generation means that we need to fill positions
quickly. Nurses themselves agree with this, and all across the country groups of
registered nurses are organizing to fight for safer nurse-to-patient ratios and
shifts that allow nurses to actually be rested and less stressed, and thus able
to provide much better medical care to patients than they are currently able to,
sleep deprived and stretched too thin by covering too many patients at once.
The latest group of nurses to protest working conditions comes from Enumclaw
Regional Hospital in Washington state. Enumclaw's registered nurses (RNs) spent
last week picketing the street with megaphones and signs, complaining that they
have been working under terms of an expired contract for months. The target of
their wrath was not the local hospital, but the hospital's owner Franciscan
Health Systems (FHS). FHS is in charge of negotiating contracts and funding.
Unlike its unhappy nurses, FHS has been quite about the whole thing, but
maintains that nurses are a crucial and valued part of a good healthcare system.
Enumclaw has over 100 RNs, who are represented by the Service Employees
International Union. Last week, the union vice president supported the Enumclaw
RNs' protests, publicly calling on FHS to open negotiations and commenting that
"the commitment by Franciscan is sorely lacking."
The nurses' contract at with FHS expired on the last day of March, and they have
been working under the terms of this expired contract since then, and have not
been able to have a face-to-face meeting with Franciscan. As is so often the
case, the main sticking point for the nurses is staffing issues. Following a
number of safe staffing initiatives across the country, the most significant of
which demand a 1-to-3 nurse-to-patient ratio, the Enumclaw nurses are simply
asking for a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1-to-4, which they maintain is the
maximum number of patients that nurses should handle before patients are put at
risk. Spreading nurses too thin has time and again been demonstrated to be
deleterious to patient care, stressful to nurses, and costly to hospitals.
Underlying the belief that FHS can afford the better, safer contract, nurses
chanted, ?I don?t know but I?ve been told, Franciscan pockets are lined with
gold," at the protest. Nurses also targeted Franciscan for their dismissive
attitude and procrastination in dealing with the expired contract, yelling,
?FHS, rich and rude, we don?t like your attitude.?
The union does not want patient care compromised. They have no plans for a
walkout, and nurses participating in the protests do so during their private
time, so patients care is not disrupted.
Franciscan spokesman Gale Robinette confessed that talks should be happening
faster, but gave a nod to RNs, calling them "essential and valued members of our
health care team." Robinette told reporters that Franciscan offers "competitive
wages and excellent benefits," and they have increased nurses' salaries 8
percent since May 2007 and increased nursing staff from 81 nurses to 108 nurses
since 2007 when FHS took control of Enumclaw Regional Hospital.