Members of National Nurses United (NNU) will hold a National Safe Staffing Day of Action on Thursday, January 26, 2023, in multiple locations across the country. According to NNU, thousands of the organization’s RNs are demanding that the hospital industry work to end the ongoing nursing workforce crisis and provide safe patient-nurse relationships.
The NNU dubbed the crisis an ongoing ‘quad-demic’ of RSV, influenza and COVID-19 infections and accused the hospital industry of prioritizing money over patient care. According to NNU, much of the staffing crisis and conditions in hospitals right now are the result of decades of actions by hospitals to reduce bed capacity in units considered less profitable, such as pediatric units, as well as to eliminate staff specifically to maximize profits.
“In our National Day of Action, NNU members will advocate for staffing models that adequately protect patients, nurses and our communities from public health crises,” NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN, said on their website. .
Why is the Action Day necessary?
NNU’s press release makes clear the reason for supporting a National Day of Action: Nurses and patients need and deserve safe staffing relationships. In a Facebook post, they described how 56.8% of hospital nurses in their recent survey reported that staffing has deteriorated recently. “We know what’s to blame…the bottom line of the hospital industry!” wrote the NNU. “They willfully refuse to staff our nation’s hospitals with enough nurses to care for patients — and it’s only gotten worse during the recent spikes in RSV, influenza, and Covid-19.”
Source: Instagram/@NationalNurses
NNU also cited recent efforts the organization has had to support nurses in achieving better staffing ratios, including the recent and widely covered walkout by the New York State Nurses Association (a NNU affiliate) in January, which has successfully helped over 7,000 nurses achieve safe staffing standards at their hospitals. Additionally, in the fall of 2022, the Minnesota Nurses Association, also affiliated with NNU, participated in the largest private sector strike in nursing history, which again helped nurses ensure safe staffing.
NNU has also highlighted the fact that research supports the validity and efficacy of safe nurse-patient relationships: A 2021 study by Dr. Linda Aiken argued that if New York had the staffing mandates of California, at least 4,370 lives could have been saved that same year.
How to participate in the Action Day
Some hospitals have released their planned actions, including information meetings, rallies and rallies. Past actions during the NNU Day of Action have included candlelight vigils and social media campaigns.
You can join NNU’s Action Day by checking their website for up-to-date times and venues. As of January 25, they have released the following times and locations:
Arizona
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Carondelet St. Mary’s, 1601 W. St. Mary’s Road, Tucson, AZ 85745 (on the sidewalk in front of the hospital)
California
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Oakland Children’s Hospital, 747 52nd St., Oakland, CA 94609
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Community Hospital of San Bernardino Informational Picket, 1805 Medical Center Drive, San Bernardino, CA 92411
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Desert Regional Medical Center, 1150 N Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
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Doctors Hospital Manteca, 1205 E. North Street, Manteca, CA 95336
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Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital, 1115 S. Sunset Ave., Sunset and Main Entrance, West Covina, CA 91790
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Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, 911 Sunset Drive, Aerial Highway Intersection, Hollister, CA 95023
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Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, 4867 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027
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Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, 3600 Broadway, corner of Broadway and W. MacArthur, Oakland, CA 94611
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Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center, 2238 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115
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MarinHealth Medical Center, 250 Bon Air Road, Greenbrae, CA 94904
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PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital, 1225 Wilshire Blvd., Corner of Witmer and Shatto, Los Angeles, CA 90017
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Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance, 4101 Torrance Blvd, on Torrance Blvd public sidewalk, intersection with Plaza Lane, Torrance, CA 90503
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St. Mary’s Medical Center, 450 Stanyan St., San Francisco, CA 94117
Florida
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HCA Florida Largo Hospital, 201 14th Street SW, Largo, FL 33770
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HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, 9330 FL-54, Trinity, FL 34655
Georgia
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Atlanta VA Medical Center, 1670 Clairmont Road, Clairmont Street Front Entrance, Decatur, GA 30033
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Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, 950 15th St, Augusta, GA 30901, Augusta, GA 30901
Kansas
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Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, 929 St Francis, sidewalk on Murdock Avenue, Wichita, KS 67214
Missouri
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Medical Research Center, 2316 East Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64132
North Carolina
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Mission Hospital, 509 Biltmore Avenue, at the intersection of Biltmore Ave. and Hospital Dr., Asheville, NC 28801
New York
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VA NY Harbor Healthcare Manhattan Campus, 423 East 23rd St., New York, NY 10010
Texas
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Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (at the Administrative Offices), 1345 Philomena St., Austin, TX 78723
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Corpus Christi Medical Center, 7101 S Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
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The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus, 2001 North Oregon Street, El Paso, Texas 79902
