Nurses and caregivers at Palomar Health in Escondido are raising the alarm about patient safety in the hospital.
Nurses and caregivers with the California Nurses Association (CNA), National Nurses United (NNU) and California Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU) picketed Thursday morning.
"We're asking Palomar to give us more respect to retain our staff and right now … we're very short (staffed) ... for patient safety," said Constanza Neider, a caregiver in the hospital's emergency department.
She said Palomar Health and the unions have failed to reach an agreement, and as a result, staffing has gone down, and cuts in services are impacting patient care.
She said the hospital has cameras to watch patients, but, "when you have a patient that is delusional because of a procedure or because of a mental illness ... We need the CNAs. We need somebody that is there to provide the safety and the security that that patient needs. The camera can not come in and hold their hand. It cannot redirect an elderly patient that is confused."
She said without a strong contract, recruitment for new staff also gets harder, and that's an added stress to the staff trying to keep up with patients.
"We want to support of the community because this is what this hospital is for. This hospital is to serve the community, to be here for them, to care for people when they're in their most vulnerable state," Constanza said.
The nurses' and caregivers’ contract expired in July, but was extended until the end of September. That extension has now expired.
Michelle Jones, a registered nurse at the hospital, said morale is low. "I love being a nurse and I love providing care for my patients and I love to provide them the best care possible here in Palomar Health. And we do that with a good contract," she said.
The unions represent almost 2,800 registered nurses and caregivers in the Palomar Healthcare District with facilities in Escondido, Poway, and surrounding clinics.
We reached out to Palomar Health for an interview but they said they have no comment at this time.
Negotiations between the hospital and nurses union pick up at the end of October.
