Nurses demand safe patient care from hospital administration in accordance with California’s staffing ratios

Registered nurses represented by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) at Dignity Health’s Bakersfield Memorial Hospital will hold an informational picket on Thursday, May 2, to stand in solidarity against the hospital administration’s refusal to address RNs’ serious patient care concerns.

Nurses have attempted to address their concerns about patient safety and safe staffing issues with management in a series of meetings. Hospital management failed to address nurses’ concerns with adequate solutions or remedies, so nurses will hold an informational picket to let the public know what’s happening in their hospital.

Who: Registered nurses at Dignity Health’s Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
What: Informational picket for safe patient care, safe staffing
When: Thursday, May 2, 2024, 11am-1pm 
Where: Dignity Health Memorial Hospital, 420 34th St., Bakersfield, Calif.

Hospital management continues to fail to provide proper safe staffing, including short-staffing RNs and support staff essential to patient care. These staffing decisions made by management cause delays in critical care, misuse of mobile intensive care nurses (MICNs) in the ER, and do not allow for free charge and resource RNs to assist with proper patient care as intended.

“Any patient’s right to safe, high-quality health care is violated when corners are cut and services are not delivered safely because of the poor decision-making of hospital management,” said Paul Gabiana, RN at Bakersfield Memorial and CNA/NNU chief nurse representative for the hospital.

CNA/NNU represents more than 700 Nurses at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, which is owned by Dignity Health.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide.