RNs and health care workers at Santa Paula Hospital and Ventura County Medical Center to protest service changes and potential closure

Registered nurses and healthcare professionals at Santa Paula Hospital (SPH) in Santa Paula, Calif. and Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC) in Ventura, Calif., will hold a speak out at Ventura County's Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to protest changes in services and possible closure of SPH proposed by Ventura County Healthcare Agency Administration and County Board of Supervisors. Nurses and health care workers at SPH and VCMC are represented by California Nurses Association/Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CNA/CHEU), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), the country’s largest nurses union.

On Friday, Aug. 7, SPH and VCMC nurses and health care professionals attended the “Future of Santa Paula Hospital” townhall in Santa Paula, which was organized by the county’s health care agency and barely publicized, to discuss what the county announced as options for the future of Santa Paula Hospital. The Board of Supervisors will possibly vote on the changes in services and possible closure impacts at the Board of Supervisors hearing on Aug. 18 at 10:30 am.

The nurses and health care professionals will attend this meeting to urge the Ventura County Health Care Agency Administration and Board of Supervisors to invest in nursing staff and the public health of the Santa Paula community and surrounding rural areas.

“The life span expectancy of those living in the Santa Clara Valley is already an average of ten years less than the rest of the Ventura County’s residents,” said Tiffany Leon, a registered nurse who works at SPH and VCMC and lives in Santa Paula. “There is no good reason why my community does not deserve a fully functioning hospital with access to lifesaving care. Nurses will continue to advocate for our patients because it is our oath.”

Who: Nurses and healthcare professionals at SPH and VCMC in the County of Ventura
What: Save Santa Paula Hospital from changes in services and possible closure Speak Out
When: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Where: The Ventura County Government center – Hall of Administration – Board room (800 S. Victoria Ave. Ventura, CA 93009)

The county proposes removing SPH’s emergency room, medica/surgical, telemetry, in-patient observation, and operating room services for rural residents of Ventura, Saticoy, Lake Piru, Santa Paula, Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai Valley, and Santa Clara Valley, leaving thousands of community members without lifesaving services. Lives will be lost.

VCMC and SPH are under one hospital licensure, but patient safety is at risk by having no emergent and basic hospital services in Santa Paula. The patients will be expected to use the facilities at Ventura County Medical center, which is about 15 miles away from SPH. Lifesaving care can be jeopardized during transport.

If Ventura County’s Board of Supervisors approves changes in service or closure of SPH, marginalized immigrant and low-socio economic communities who work in the county’s agricultural industry and farm fields will be left without access to general hospital care services. CNA union nurses and health care professionals are taking a stand to ensure equal care and access is maintained.

In total, CNA/CHEU represents over 900 health care professionals, including RNs, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psych techs, and licensed vocational nurses who work at two hospitals, ambulatory and specialty clinics, public health departments, and behavioral health clinics.

Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU) is an affiliate of California Nurses Association. CNA has more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California.