Safe Staffing South Florida- Let's build a movement

[phosphorus]

There is a new website for a campaign to bring safe staffing levels to South Florida. We need to build a movement of healthcare workers who are willing to take action to end this tragedy we see everyday in our hospitals and clinics with the reckless endangerment of people's health and well being. Please contact the site if you are interested in helping build this campaign. If nurses band together across all the health systems (memorial, jackson, broward general, baptist, UM, etc) we could have some real leverage to change the industry standards.

Safe Staffing South Florida

[FLmomof5]

With Rick Scott as Governor? That would be an accomplishment!

[phosphorus]

If healthcare workers are united and fight collectively (not just through political lobbying) we would be extremely powerful. California nurses had to fight hard for over a decade to win what they won, and they had to take on both democrats and republicans. We need to do the same. Realistically if you saw nurses taking direct action across multiple health systems in the state, it would send shockwaves through the industry and state. It would be a game changer. I think people are ready here. I've seen nurses taking actions all over Jackson, UM, and the VA. It's time!

[CaptKris]

Unions don't work in the south; people work here. Maybe it's because we spend less time complaining about the job, benifits, ratios, unions, and "making shockwaves". With all that spare time, we have more time getting the job done. Just a theory.

[phosphorus]

I'm not sure who the we is? Nurses where I live all share the frustrations and trauma that comes with unsafe staffing. Having 3 codes going off on a floor without tele and no extra help, having 7 patients and 4 full cares with feeding tubes, wounds, and some going septic, etc. It's not like you complain while you work, you have no time to take breaks or use the bathroom so not sure where all the free time is supposed to come from. The reality is unions like politicians won't make changes for us, we need to make the changes happen directly.

[ilmbg]

I saw the title of the thread and it made me take a look...I lived/worked in Sarasota/Bradenton 15 years ago. I worked there for 8 years. I saw a nice private hospital that gave good quality patient care bought by another 'chain', where immediate cutbacks were started. Patient care went downhill, the safety went down, the new 'chain' cut out hourly wage by $3/hr, and many nurses left. I know of several that went back to California where they had been prior to being in Florida. I still keep in touch with my surgical partner who is very unhappy with Florida. And of course Florida isn't the only state doing this. I can't for the life of me understand why the trash collector, a handyman, the yard man can earn 2-3 times what I went to college for.....in general, the hospitals have no respect for their nurses who are the windows of hospital care/outcome.