National Nurses United

J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 ILLINOIS A bout 2,200 registered nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center went on a one-day strike on Sept. 20 as negotiations between the nurses and hospital broke down after management issued an ultima- tum that failed to address the safety and care needs of a majority of the patients. "Transplant nurses are committed to caring for their patients who have incredibly complex needs," said Lisa Sandoval, a regis- tered nurse who coordinates transplant patient care. "But due to short staffing, nurses who work with these very vulnerable patients are working 60 hours a week to keep up with the workload. We are salaried nurses and are not compensated for this overtime. However, the more critical issue is that our patients need constant monitoring and if we can't keep up with the caseload, a patient runs the risk of not being ready for transplant when an opportunity arises. This is a tragedy with dire consequences that can literally mean the difference between life and death." One pediatric oncology nurse wrote about how patient care suffers on her unit due to chronic understaffing of nurses. "We administer chemotherapy to children for a living," wrote Elise Garcia Parker, a regis- tered nurse. "We hold 3-year-olds who are by themselves. We shave the head of a pre- teen who just cannot stand the falling hair. We play UNO with teens who just cannot be alone with their thoughts any longer. We hug parents as they cry." Parker said nurses are stretched thin and are leaving the hospital because they unable to provide the level of care they know is best for their patients. "Pushback from manage- ment about productivity and budget has prevented us from providing the safe and quality care our patients and families deserve," said Parker. "We have fought about it. We have cried about it. Meeting after meeting has been held with false promises of 'better things to come.'" "As nurses, we are passionate about our work and our patients, and that is what has pushed us the strike line. We will continue to fight for the best patient care for our patients," said Hardin. —Rachel Berger University of Chicago Medical Center nurses strike

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