LA Times: Union nurses at Anaheim hospital raise safety concerns amid contract talks
The LA Times’ Daily Pilot reported on nurses picketing at Anaheim Regional Medical Center to call attention to security lapses, equipment failures, and worsening conditions that nurses say are creating a barrier to hiring and retention.
Mara Flicker, a labor and delivery nurse, walked with fellow nurses represented by SEIU Local 121RN during the action.
She stressed that safety is a top priority for nurses — and is a sticking point in trying to win the union’s first-ever collective bargaining agreement with the hospital.
“We’re trying to get metal detectors or, at least, wands at our doors,” Flicker said. “My coworkers have collected guns and other weapons. They have to check their patients. It’s not safe.”
The Times reported on nurses’ concerns about safety, from staffing levels to equipment failures.
In addition to safety and staffing, the union also claims the hospital is plagued by critical equipment failure and general disrepair.
“We’ve had nurses getting shocked by electrical outlets and we’ve had people getting stuck in elevators,” Roxanne McMahan, who works in the hospital’s medical-surgical and telemetry department, said in a news release. “It doesn’t appear that management is taking these problems seriously.”
Nurses are negotiating their first union contract, and licensed healthcare professionals begin bargaining soon for their first contract.
