Tenet informational pickets to highlight patient safety
Thousands of registered nurses at six Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet) hospitals in California will hold an informational picket on Thursday, July 31. RNs hope to raise awareness in their communities about management’s refusal to ensure appropriate staffing and training and the impact it has on the quality of patient care and the retention of experienced nursing staff.
Rallies will be held at the following times and locations:
Joshua Tree, CA
What: Hi-Desert Medical Center RNs info picket
Where: 6601 White Feather Rd, Joshua Tree, CA
When: July 31, 6pm-8pm
“As a charge nurse in the emergency room, I watch with a broken heart how patients wait hours for beds, care, and attention they should receive immediately because of Tenet’s staffing decisions,” said Shabana Begum, RN. “Nurses are not asking for luxury—we’re demanding the resources to provide the care our patients deserve. I want Hi Desert to be a hospital where I’d feel confident sending my own family but right now, we’re being stretched too thin. Our community deserves better from a multibillion dollar hospital corporation.”
Palm Springs, CA
What: Desert Regional Medical Center RNs info picket
Where: 1150 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA
When: July 31, 5:30am-8:30am
“Despite Desert Regional being a level-one trauma center and comprehensive stroke center, Tenet has shamelessly told nurses at the bargaining table that they do not want to staff for ‘what ifs’,” said Rachel Garcia, RN in the intensive care unit. “Nurses need a dedicated rapid response RN to help patients who are in immediate danger of death, not just in some units, but in every single unit. Tenet is trying to squeeze compassion out of nursing, but union nurses are united to stop this decline in patient care.”
Turlock, CA
What: Emanuel Medical Center RNs info picket
Where: 825 Delbon Ave, Turlock, CA
When: July 31, 6pm-8pm
“Our hospital relies heavily on new graduate RNs and Tenet doesn’t provide adequate orientation for these new nurses,” said Desiree Lynch, RN in the operating room. “This is not safe staffing. Our community deserves better from Tenet, which made billions in profit last year.”
Modesto, CA
What: Doctors Medical Center Modesto RNs info picket
Where: 1441 Florida Ave, Modesto, CA
When: July 31, 6:30am-8:30am
“This month, the emergency room was so understaffed that we could only keep five beds, out of a total of 28 beds, open,” said Kristi Carson, RN in the emergency room. “As a result, seriously ill patients waited for several hours. These conditions lead to a devastating moral injury for nurses across the hospital. As RNs, we feel a responsibility to speak out and advocate for our patients.”
Manteca, CA
What: Doctors Hospital of Manteca RNs info picket
Where: 1205 E North St, Manteca, CA
When: July 31, 6:15pm-8:15pm
“Nurses don’t graduate nursing school ready to practice — you graduate ready to learn,” said Patty Betschart, RN in the labor and delivery unit. “Instead of focusing on recruitment and retention, Tenet has created a staffing model where new graduates come into the hospital without the experienced nurses to support them. New graduates need mentors, not miracles, and every family deserves a safe birth, not a unit stretched to the edge.”
San Ramon, CA
What: San Ramon Regional Medical Center RNs info picket
Where: 6001 Norris Canyon Rd, San Ramon, CA
When: July 31, 12pm-2pm
“Back injuries shouldn’t come with the job description, but, sadly, at San Ramon, they do because Tenet refuses to provide RNs with a lift team,” said Cassy Harwood, RN in the operating room. “Tenet makes the profits they do because nurses care so much that we make it work when we are short-staffed, including going 13 hours without a meal or rest break. Nurses deserve better and so do our patients.”