Bay Area Nurses Strike Giant Sutter Chain to Improve Patient Care

Bay Area Nurses Strike Giant Sutter Chain to Improve Patient Care

by James Parks, Oct 11, 2007

Nearly 5,000 registered nurses are taking a stand for improving patient care in a two-day strike at 15 Northern California hospitals. All but two of the hospitals are part of the giant Sutter Health chain and include some of the largest hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro says (see video):

Sutter RNs have made a choice. They are dedicated to improving patient care conditions and they have decided to step up and protect their communities. Their commitment is about their patients and advocacy for those patients and protecting the community health.

Sutter should work with the nurses and CNA to turn this healthcare system around. It should treat its nurses with respect, and listen to them. The nurses are concerned with the impact of staffing decisions on patient care protections at Sutter hospitals, reductions in health care coverage and retirement security for Sutter RNs and management proposals to eliminate essential patient care services in Bay Area communities.