BALTIMORE — Nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital held a 24-hour strike here starting 7 a.m. July 6 to protest the hospital bosses’ refusal to deal with patient safety and chronic understaffing that leads to nurses seeking other jobs.
There are a number of nurses strikes this week, including at two Ascension hospitals in Wichita, Kansas. Ascension is one of the largest U.S. health systems.
About 60 members of National Nurses United — the largest union of registered nurses in the country — wearing red “Nurses for Democracy” T-shirts gathered outside the hospital to demand a new contract. The union organized for drinks and breakfast sandwiches to be available while the nurses made handwritten signs.
“The hospital takes us down to bare-bones staffing by cutting shifts to increase their profits,” Chachi Blackburn, a delivery room nurse, said. “The hospital is trying to depict us as being greedy. We just want adequate staffing.”
The nurses have gotten support from other hospital workers at Saint Agnes, and from other unions and from the community. Their picket line drew honks of solidarity from drivers in passing cars, school bus drivers and truckers.
“I’m here because I want a healthy community,” said Sanjay Varma, a member of the Baltimore Teachers Union. “The hospital is more concerned about corporate profits than they care about keeping people healthy. Healthcare in this country is just a business.”
Robin Buckner, a specialized nurse who handles catheters, has worked at Saint Agnes for 10 years. “We are out here for patients’ safety and for nurses’ safety. Nurses here are frustrated because they are overworked. You can only be at one place at a time.”
A hospital spokesperson told WBAL-TV they stand by their “last, best and final” offer.