Centinela Hospital nurses allege understaffing, unsafe staffing conditions – Orange County Register

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A group of around 30 nurses staged a protest at Centinela Hospital medical center early Tuesday, claiming they were sorely understaffed and were sometimes forced to work 12-hour shifts continuously.

The situation prompted more than 220 nurses to quit Centinela last year, according to the California Nurses Association (CNA), which represents 475 registered nurses at Inglewood Hospital.

Lack of staff has become a common complaint at medical facilities in Southern California. This sparked a two-day strike last month among nurses at USC Keck Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, and a similar protest took place in June involving respiratory therapists, housekeepers, nursing assistants and others at three Tenet Healthcare hospitals.

Centinela nurses say the understaffing has left them overworked and is impacting patient care.

“When nurses work without being able to take a break, they are more likely to make mistakes, and it is not safe for patients,” said Paige Egizi, a nurse who works in the emergency room at Centinela. “Sometimes we are lucky if we run to the bathroom. “

The Centinela Hospital medical center lost 226 nurses last year, although many new nurses were recruited to help bridge the gap, a union official said. (Photo courtesy of the California Nurses Association)

Egizi said state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios are regularly compromised in the hospital.

“Emergency room nurses with critical patients should only care for two patients, but sometimes we’ll have four – and that’s against the law,” said the 30-year-old Palms resident. “When that happens, you can’t give everyone the care they deserve.

California is the only state in the United States to legally require a specific number of nurses for patients in each hospital unit. Data from the United Nurses Associations of California and the United Union of Healthcare Professionals shows that the state requires an emergency room nurse for every trauma patient and an emergency room nurse for two intensive care patients.

Sentinel responds

In a statement released on Tuesday, Centinela said frontline workers across the country have been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. And Centinela, the statement said, is a safety net hospital located in one of the hardest hit areas in Los Angeles County.

“Much like ours, hospitals across the country continue to face critical shortages of nurses, beds and often medical supplies, as demand for hospital services is surprisingly high,” the hospital said.

Centinela said she “is aggressively pursuing all potential sources to find and program qualified nurses, including incentives for existing staff, registry and travelers, often at extraordinary cost.”

Heavy losses

Regardless of these efforts, many Centinela nurses chose to leave.

“We lost 226 nurses to Centinela in 2020, not counting the losses we suffered in 2021,” said Sandra Ocampo, CNA union representative. “They hired new nurses, but we missed that again 60 and we have 70 positions now.”

Centinela said the hospital and CNA reached a new three-year contractual agreement over a year ago that included annual salary increases, free health insurance and pension benefits after months of negotiations. active.

“While we don’t agree with the way unions choose to communicate, we recognize their right to do so,” the hospital said. “This activity will not distract us from our goal of providing quality patient care to all members of our community. “

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