National Nurses United

6 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 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA A s an experienced nurse, why would you continue to work at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center when you can practice under safer conditions and make up to a whopping 50 percent more at other San Bernardino hospitals? That's the simple question Arrowhead nurses are posing to their hospital's manage- ment and county supervisors, who govern the county facility, as part of current contract talks. Nurses are striving to improve patient care by stemming the hospital's high turnover rate and subsequent loss of experienced RNs, but management has refused to address these issues that put quality care for the community at risk. So Arrowhead hospital and clinic RNs staged a two-day strike on Dec. 9 and 10. Just before and during the strike, the county lost court appeals to block the walkout. Nurses also appeared before the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors just days after the strike to argue their case. "Sadly, the county is not investing in its loyal, experienced registered nurses and the loss of experienced nurses leads to a number of patient safety problems," said Becky Spradling, an Arrowhead RN. "Eroding conditions jeop- ardize the county's mission statement of 'providing quality healthcare—to the residents of San Bernardino County' at its safety net hospital and outpatient clinics. The essential element in the ability to provide quality health- care is the expertise of the registered nurses." The California Nurses Association/ National Nurses United, which represents the 1,250 San Bernardino County RNs who work in the hospital, clinics, and jails, cites a 30 percent wage gap for county RNs compared to nearby private hospitals that has contributed to a serious drain of RNs. That disparity rises to as high as 52 percent for some of the most experienced nurses. But instead of investing money in staff salaries, management prompted the strike and even requested $4 million from county supervi- sors to cover the cost of temporary nurses. "If county officials would devote the resources to improving conditions at their health facili- ties that they have wasted on efforts to block the strike and hire replacement nurses, they would go a long way to settling this dispute," said CNA Co-President Zenei Cortez, RN. Toni Rodriguez, an Arrowhead RN, described how it's typical for new nurse graduates to find their first job with the County, work for a year or two to gain expe- rience, then quickly move on to another hospital because of better pay and condi- tions. According to the County's own data, there were 144 new hires in the past year, suggesting an 11.5 percent turnover rate, well above the statewide and Southern Cali- fornia average. As a result, nurses estimate that about 20 percent of its current RN workforce is composed of new grads; the problem is especially pronounced in some of the most critical care units, such as surgical intensive care, where 90 percent of the RNs are new. "The County has essentially become a training center for the area's private hospi- tals," said Rodriguez. "Taxpayers are subsi- dizing the private-sector hospitals by training the RNs for them." So many new nurses and the lack of experienced RNs have a negative effect on adequate, competent staffing and patient care. For example, the County wants to require nurses to work in units far outside their area of clinical expertise, such as having maternity care RNs care for extreme- ly ill cancer or intensive care patients. The county restricted this unsafe practice in the nurses' prior contract, but is now demand- ing this protection be eliminated to make up for inadequate staffing and high turnover. Nurses have been in negotiations with the County for 14 months and have been working without a contract since June. —Staff report San Bernardino County RNs strike for higher standards and wages that will retain experienced nurses

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