Press Release
Long Beach nurses to hold informational picket and candlelight vigil for patient safety
RNs at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital to protest the layoff of dozens of nurses and health care workers
Registered nurses at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, Calif., will hold an informational picket on Monday, June 16, to highlight their patient safety concerns stemming from the layoff of dozens of nurses and health care workers, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) today.
“The hospital is choosing to reduce the services that are essential to patients in our community,” said Amy Wolk, RN in the diabetes clinic, who was laid off. “They are laying off dozens of registered nurses who have given decades of service to our community. This is unconscionable.”
On May Day (May 1), Long Beach management announced that they would lay off dozens of registered nurses and health care workers, mostly in outpatient clinics and women’s health departments. The layoffs will result in a reduction of services available to the Long Beach community and could have devastating impacts on patient care in the area.
Who: RNs at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital
What: Informational picket and candlelight vigil for patient safety
When: Monday, June 16, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, 2801 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, Calif.
“We are going to stand up to the hospital and make sure the public is aware of the impact of the layoffs,” said Brandy Welch, RN in the pediatrics unit. “Our patients deserve transparency into the operations of the hospital and how these layoffs will affect patient care.”
CNA represents more than 2,100 registered nurses at Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital.
California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.