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Home > Article Categories > Medical Articles > Seton Medical Center Contemplates Further Nurse Layoffs

Seton Medical Center Contemplates Further Nurse Layoffs


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The latest in a long string of incidents in which nursing unions take strong stands against medical facilities, nurses at Seton Medical Center have protested proposed layoffs and other budget cuts. Union leader Debra Amour announced that about 100 nurses sought out the Center?s top administrator last Thursday to discuss their concerns. "I have a very large concern for patients because I don't think we'll have enough staff," said Amour, a Seton nurse and member of the California Nurses Association. "They also want to cut health care benefits to the people who are the front line to patients." It turned out Lorraine Auerbach, President and CEO of Seton Medical Center, was not at the hospital at the time, so the nurses instead presented their demands to other administrators. "Seton Medical Center is in discussions with unions regarding implementing staffing changes," hospital spokeswoman Beth Volz said in a statement in response to the nurses' rally. "It was announced on February 10, 2011, that we are changing working conditions and adjusting staffing to align with current volume." But while the labor negotiations go on, Volz said, "We continue to provide the compassionate, quality care that is our benchmark." The private, Catholic hospital is Daly City's largest employer, hiring about 1,600 workers. The center is facing potential layoffs that would include about 55 nurses, following a couple of rounds of layoffs last year, which cut back 75 positions, including some nursing jobs. The center?s skilled-nursing unit for patients requiring around-the-clock care was also eliminated. Seton officials say a variety of factors influenced the cuts, including a decline in patient population and uncertain state and federal funding. The 357-bed hospital had 192 patients as of Thursday, when nurses went to the administration with their complaints. Hospital spokeswoman Beth Volz said that while Seton is contemplating more cuts, it seeks to keep patient satisfaction high. She added that some employees whose jobs are in jeopardy could still find positions elsewhere in the hospital or the larger Daughters of Charity Health System, which runs Seton and other medical facilities from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. However, further layoffs for nurses could disable Seton from meeting state-mandated nurse-to-patient safe staffing ratios. Union leader Amour believes that the hospital's latest cost-cutting plan also involves a reduction in work hours and eliminating benefits for 98 other nurses. "They would not have health benefits, vacation accruals and educational leaves," she said. "They would have squat." During the rally, Amour said, the nurses brought pictures of their families to show hospital officials "the faces of those they would cut health care from."


 

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