Registered nurses at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino have announced a formal protest over management’s alleged refusal to address chronic understaffing impacting patient safety.

Nurses at Dignity Health St. Bernardine Medical Center will hold a two-hour informational picket starting at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced.

St. Bernardine nurses informed their employer of the informational picket on Oct. 16, the group said.

Nurses will gather on the sidewalk near the emergency room entrance at Dignity Health, St. Bernardine Hospital, 2101 N. Waterman Avenue. in San Bernardino.

The nursing group says a lack of investment in staffing by CommonSpirit Health, owner and operator of St. Bernardine Medical Center, is leading to high turnover rates at a hospital that has already suffered from insufficient staffing for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Due to CommonSpirit’s inability to retain hospital staff, nurses have been forced to take on multiple roles beyond their assigned duties: we act as technicians, certified nursing assistants, and transportation staff and safety,” said intensive care unit registered nurse Donielle Kelosky. “This is the definition of unsafe working conditions. Not only do these conditions compromise the physical and mental well-being of nurses, they compromise the safety of patients entrusted to our care.

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According to the 2024 rankings, CommonSpirit Health is the nation’s largest Catholic hospital chain and the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain in the United States. with net patient revenue of just under $30 billion.

Because of its nonprofit status, the hospital system doesn’t pay tens of millions of dollars in federal taxes — resources that should be reinvested in its workforce and in the communities where it operates, said the nursing group.

“CommonSpirit has the resources to end the staffing crisis, excessive workloads, and increased levels of stress and moral distress that nurses face and which leadership has failed to adequately address” , said Simon Seyoum, nurse in the telemetry unit. “We called the picket because we are tired – tired of working without breaks, working extra shifts and running out of resources – as we see CommonSpirit collect billions in revenue. »

According to an NNU analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Council of the State Boards of Nursing, there is no shortage of nurses, but there is a serious hospital staffing crisis.

In California, there are 166,233 active licensed and registered nurses who do not work at the bedside.

The California Nurses Association represents nearly 800 registered nurses at St. Bernardine Medical Center.

This article was originally published on Victorville Daily Press: San Bernardino Nurses Hold Patient Safety Information Picket