OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla.,None — Dozens of nurses gathered outside Osceola Regional Medical Center on Monday to try to get more nurses at the hospital as part of negotiations for a new contract.
In the last year, nurses there have filed more than 200 complaints about the hospital because they say they are routinely put in potentially dangerous situations where there are more patients than they can safely handle.
More than 50 nurses gathered on their break outside Osceola Regional, all of them concerned about what's going on inside.
"A lot of days we come in, it's unsafe staffing, and it's unsafe for the nurses, it's unsafe for the patient," nurse Elizabeth Mathieu said.
In just the last year, the nurses have filed more than 200 Assignment Despite Objection reports, where union nurses filed complaints about being required to do a task they felt was dangerous for themselves or a patient.
"If we see something that we're not supposed to be doing, and we're forced to do it, then we say we're going to do this, despite our objections," nurse Tony Thompson said.
The ADO reports are internal, and do not go to a state agency for review.
Jennie Cachero has filed reports for having patients put in her care that she was not trained to handle.
"That's why we're filing the ADO, and that's why we're fighting for patient safety," Cachero said.
Union officials want to know the hospital's patient-to-nurse ratio, but the hospital has not disclosed its criteria.
Right now, the nurses said on average, it's one nurse to five patients, and that is too much.
Not all hospitals use reports like this. The nurses are negotiating with HCA, the hospital's owners, at the end of the month for their contract, overpay and hiring more staff.
They have voted to strike, if HCA does not meet their demands. The hospital said patient care is of the utmost importance.
Osceola Regional Medical Center released the following statement Monday evening:
"Osceola Regional Medical Center has not been notified of any pending action by the NNOC.
The NNOC, a California based labor union, which represents the registered nurses of Osceola Regional Medical Center conducted a press conference on Monday, February 20, 2012. This kind of activity sometimes occurs when a union and an employer are engaged in negotiations for a contract, as Osceola Regional Medical Center is with this California-based union.
We have been bargaining in good faith and will continue to do so. Osceola Regional Medical Center is committed to being an employer of choice in our community, offering competitive wages and benefits, and treating all of our staff with respect and fairness. We will continue to discuss the current topics at the bargaining table rather than negotiate through the media.
Regardless of the union’s tactics, patient care is the first and absolute priority every day for everyone working at Osceola Regional Medical Center. We have, and we will continue to provide uninterrupted, high-quality healthcare, with the same compassion and dedication that our patients and communities have come to expect."