More than 350 Registered Nurses from the Los Alamitos Medical Center joined more than 6,000 RN’s from around the country Friday to stage a one-day strike seeking lower patient loads and other investments into nursing staff and patient care.
Pacing in a large circular path, the striking nurses carried signs that read “standing up for our patients,” and “Nurses are the heart of patient care,” among other contract complaints. According to a statement released by the California Nurses Association, the walkout occurred at seven other Tenet owned facilities in California in addition to Los Al Medical.
“We believe more California nurses would choose to work at the hospital bedside if there were staffing and other working conditions that supported their providing optimal care to patients,” said Janice Ames, one of over 6500 RNs who work at the Tenet hospitals going out on strike in Florida, Arizona and throughout California.
Tenet local spokesperson Jessica Chen said before the strike that “we value our relationship with all our employees, and we are committed to resolving the contract negotiations. While we respect the nurses’ right to strike, patients and their loved ones can be assured that our patients will continue to be cared for by qualified replacement registered nurses and other caregivers during any strike action,” she said. The California Nurses Association is part of National Nurses United which staged the strike.
