Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1446759
18 NNOC/NNU 101 » Organizing with NNOC/NNU CASE STUDIES IN COLLECTIVE ACTION EXAMPLES OF RECENTLY ORGANIZED NNOC FACILITIES Our ability to provide safe, thera- peutic, and effective patient care depends on reversing the trend of inadequate hospital staffing driven by corporate health care that is putting patients at risk and is forcing nurses out of the profession. Our contracts provide nurses with a voice in patient-care decisions, which we use to create safer health care facilities to protect our patients and our licenses. STANDING UP FOR OUR PROFESSION AND OUR PATIENTS "When management told the psychi- atric unit RNs that they were going to combine child and adolescent pop- ulations, we knew how unsafe that change would be for our patients. We refused to accept this decision. We spoke out, launched a petition that gathered about 600 signatures from RNs across the hospital, and held collective actions for months until the hospital announced that the child and adolescent patients would remain separate. We used the Assignment Despite Objection (ADO) forms to stop unsafe floating practices and nurse call-offs. We also used the ADOs to curb unsafe staffing. For example, after RNs in our trauma care unit filled out ADOs every day for two weeks, management stopped calling nurses off, and the unit was properly staffed. That is the power of collec- tive action!" — Elle Kruta, RN Mission Hospital, Asheville, N.C. ENSURING PATIENT SAFETY "Before we joined NNOC, we could be floated to units outside of our competency. We knew this was a dangerous practice that we wanted to change. Nurses were afraid of harming patients or putting their nursing licenses at risk. When we negotiated our first contract, we worked really hard to establish floating procedures and clusters to ensure that nurses are only assigned to units where they have expertise or competency. This was a huge victory for us and our patients. Because of NNOC, we have a real voice over patient care at our hospital." — Shannon King, RN Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, Tucson, Ariz. Organizing with NNOC/NNU »