National Nurses United

8 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 3 NEWS BRIEFS NATIONAL T housands of registered nurse members of National Nurses United (NNU) held actions on Jan. 26 to demand the hospital industry end their profession's staffing crisis by providing safe numbers of nurses to care for patients. The nationwide protests highlighted the ongoing "quad-demic" (Covid-19, influenza, and RSV, combined with crisis standards of care) fueled by the hospital industry's prioriti- zation of money over patient care. NNU nurses emphasized that this win- ter's surge in RSV, influenza, and Covid-19 patients resulted in crisis conditions because of a decades-long campaign by hospitals to decrease inpatient beds—particularly in pediatric units and units deemed less prof- itable—and short-staff units in order to maximize profits. "We're the most trusted profession in America because we do everything in our power to take care of our patients, whether it's at the bedside or on the streets to fight back against corporate greed," said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, ref- erencing the December 2022 Gallup polling that found nurses hold the highest profes- sional ranking among Americans for ethics and honesty, a recognition they've claimed for the past 21 years (see page 7). "On our national day of action, NNU members were standing up for staffing models that ade- quately protect patients, nurses, and our communities against public health crises." With nearly 225,000 members, NNU is the country's largest union of RNs and the leading voice in the fight to pass federal leg- islation to establish safe staffing and nurse-to-patient ratio standards. In addi- tion to these efforts, NNU members also are working to win safe staffing standards dur- ing contract negotiations to make them permanent provisions of their collective bar- gaining agreements. In 1999, NNU affiliate, California Nurses Association, successfully sponsored and lob- bied the California Legislature to pass A.B. 394, the landmark, first-in-the-nation bill that made minimum, specific numerical staffing ratios the golden standard in the Golden State and inspired similar efforts in other states. Official research shows that better nurse- to-patient ratios reduce patient mortality. A Enough is enough Thousands of nurses rally nationwide for safe staffing

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