National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:Dec 2 12/18/08 10:54 PM Page 6 UC Irvine Medical Center to Close 33 Pediatric Beds CALIFORNIA espite rns' dire warnings that the health of thousands of Southern California children will be jeopardized, the University of California Board of Regents approved a plan in November to close 33 medical-surgical and intensive care pediatric beds at UC Irvine Medical Center as early as January 2009 as part of an affiliation with Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). RNs anticipate that low-income Latino children will disproportionately suffer because their families depend on UC Irvine Medical Center as the only public hospital in Orange County. UC Irvine Medical Center plans to shift its pediatric patients to Children's Hospital, though Children's appears to be overloaded already. As the only Level 1 trauma and burn unit in the county, UC Irvine will continue to accept those cases – but these pediatric trauma and burn patients will be cared for in UCI's adult ICUs. CHOC does not have a trauma or burn program. All of these changes will hurt children's access to hospital beds and the quality of the care they receive, say UC Irvine Medical Center RNs. D 6 REGISTERED NURSE "Kids deserve highly specialized care," said Sharon Speck, a 21-year pediatric ICU RN at UC Irvine who, like many of her colleagues, is protesting these cuts. "If they close these beds, kids are not going to get the care they need." For example, Speck said that a merged ICU is inappropriate, as providers may not be accustomed to dosing medications for children based on their weight, or be familiar with special pediatric protocols or codes. At a time when the population of children in the region is growing (estimated by the state to grow 35 percent over the next 20 years) and California voters just passed a $980 million bond measure to build more children's hospitals on top of a $750 million bond in 2004, CNA/NNOC nurses in the area say that eliminating in-patient beds – especially entering the winter flu season – is irresponsible and short sighted. UC Irvine RNs have held multiple protests against the beds closure, spoke publicly against the plan at the November regents meeting, and delivered a petition signed by some 800 UC Irvine RNs, doctors, and other staff urging officials to keep the pediatric beds open. Already, stories have emerged about Children's Hospital's lack of beds. Angie Carrillo, W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G a child life specialist at UC Irvine Medical Center who advocates for children and their families, in October was shocked to observe that CHOC boarded her jaundiced newborn grandson with a male teenager, in violation of Title 22 regulations that prohibit patients under and over age 3 from sharing a room. When she protested, the staff told Carrillo's family that they had no room. "Help me understand where we are going to put all these children," said Carrillo to the regents during public testimony Nov. 19. Many local nursing schools actively opposed the UCI pediatrics closure because it will severely curtail their ability to train nursing students in pediatrics; CHOC has historically been unwilling to accept nursing students. A number of state legislators and UCI pediatricians also actively opposed the closure. UC Irvine Medical Center claims closure was not prompted by budgetary concerns, but Speck and her pediatrics colleagues believe otherwise. As a public institution, UC Irvine needs to honor its public mission, says Speck. "As nurses we feel we have a commitment to the community," she said. —staff report DECEMBER 2008

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