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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 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA R egistered nurses who work at Contra Costa Health Services staged a two-day strike Oct. 6 and 7 after what nurses say is Contra Costa County's continued failure to address serious patient care concerns they have been bringing to the administration's attention for more than a year. Nurses have been in negotiations with the county for 15 months and have been working without a contract since July. The California Nurses Association/NNU, which represents almost 1,000 county regis- tered nurses, nurse practitioners, and public health nurses who work at the county hospi- tal and its clinics, and jails, called on the county to immediately improve working conditions—mainly insufficient staffing—in order to stop the hemorrhaging of experi- enced nurses to private hospitals. CNA notes there is a 30 percent wage gap for county RNs compared to private hospitals in the area, and more than 100 nurses have left in the last year. County nurses care for some of the sickest and most vulnerable members of the community, who seek care at Contra Costa County's safety net hospital, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, and its outpatient clinics. "We would, of course, rather be at the bedside, providing care," said Liz Isenberg, RN. "But the loss of experienced nurses has resulted in deteriorating conditions for our patients at the county hospital and clinics. We can't stand by and let that happen. We are walking out for a short time to advocate for improvements that will help our patients in the long run." Nurses note that with the closure of Doctors Medical Center in West Contra Costa County and more people now eligible for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, county facilities are treating thousands of new patients without increased staffing and resources. "When nurses feel unable to provide care in safe conditions, they leave," said Rosalind Walker, RN. "We are striking because, for over a year, the county has refused to adequately address this serious issue." The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors authorized $3.7 million to hire replacement nurses for the strike—funds nurses say should go toward addressing the serious patient care issues nurses have brought to the county's attention. "Recently graduated nurses who find a first job with the county repeatedly move on to better standards at other hospitals. As a result, the county has essentially become a training center for the area's private hospi- tals. Contra Costa County taxpayers are subsidizing the private sector by footing the bill for training nurses for them," said telemetry RN Wayne Dixon, who has worked for the county for 12 years. Isenberg underscored this point during the strike when nurses marched over to the county board of supervisors meeting and gave public testimony. "Part of my job is training nurses. The county spends $50,000 training one nurse, only to lose he or she to other hospitals for better wages," she said. "I have a question here: What is your bottom line? If it's money, then your choice is clear. Spending $50,000 to train one nurse is no way to use the taxpayer's money. If your bottom line is safety, then the choice is the same. Because retaining experienced nurses is patient safety." —Kari Jones Contra Costa County RNs strike