More than 800 nurses at the Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) hospitals are fighting for the communities they serve—even as ARH tries to crush their spirit through intimidation and threats. They have been without paychecks since October 1st.Legendary labor leader John L. Lewis started these hospitals to help sick miners. Now, the ARH nurses—members of the United American Nurses in Kentucky and West Virginia—are on strike because their managers’ policies are endangering patient care.
Click here to make a donation to the ARH nurses.
The ARH nurses have shown their commitment to their patients time and time again. They are putting their jobs on the line in support of safe staffing levels. And they’ve gone more than three weeks without pay.
One nurse explained why they’re striking:
We’re being asked to do impossible tasks, to be responsible for too many patients. Some days we have as many as 12 patients to care for. That’s too much for one person to do without making a mistake. I tell my husband who is a retired teacher that if he makes a mistake, he can just erase the board. If a nurse makes a mistake, it could erase someone off the earth.
Patient care must be any hospital’s primary concern. By forcing its front-line care providers to be understaffed and overworked, ARH is recklessly putting its patients at risk.
The nurses at ARH deserve respect and decent working conditions that include fair pay and benefits as well as manageable hours.
Again, please consider making a donation to the ARH nurses by clicking here.
1 comment:
If nurses are being required to handle more than Double a normal patient load (5) then hospital managers should be made to manage
2 or 3 hospitals.
LWood
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