According to Watsonville Community Hospital, nurses make an average $140,000 per year, and they could make even more if they signed their contract. But they are picketing the hospital instead. The problem isn’t the money, nurses say, though they contest the figure as well. It’s the level of patient care that they are expected to provide, especially since the hospital is so understaffed. “We just want our patients safe,” said Tim Thomas, one of the nurses.
According to Watsonville Community Hospital, nurses make an average $140,000 per year, and they could make even more if they signed their contract. But they are picketing the hospital instead. The problem isn’t the money, nurses say, though they contest the figure as well. It’s the level of patient care that they are expected to provide, especially since the hospital is so understaffed. “We just want our patients safe,” said Tim Thomas, one of the nurses.
The hospital refuses to accept that. WCH is not willing to hire more nurses, though that is the strikers’ main demand. It is, however, playing hardball with nurses, and brought in outside staff to reduce the pressure during the strike. The nurses regard this as an insult: “They’re using up more money, resources that they could’ve put back into us and this community,” said nurse Catherine Trevor.
While the nurses plan to head back to work today, the hospital says it will keep them locked out until Friday. The extra staffing has helped it function, and even the ER has remained open, despites earlier threats that it would be closed down. Read more at Fox35 and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
