BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Registered nurses picketed Dignity Health Mercy Southwest and Mercy Hospital Downtown Wednesday morning to inform the public of the staffing situation the hospitals are facing.
Over a dozen nurses waved signs reading ‘Safe Staffing Saves Lives’ and ‘Minimum Staffing is Not Safe Staffing’ as they walked up and down the sidewalk on Truxtun Avenue.
Mary Lynn Briggs, an ICU registered nurse who works at both hospitals told 17 News that the nurses said they are short staffed and working 12-hour shifts, with no breaks or meals
“We need more nurses at the bedside. We need administration to listen to our concerns, to pay attention to our concerns and take concrete actions to keep the nurses we have working here, and to attract more nurses” Briggs said.
