"When you push the call light and somebody doesn't respond in time, there's a chance (a patient) might take a risk, Allan Kamara, the vice president of the Registered Nurses Professional Association, said, explaining that patients who aren't supposed to get out of bed without assistance could fall and hurt themselves. The union, which represents 4,500 nurses in the county-owned Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system, is holding a Day of Action on Tuesday, calling on the county to end its several years-long hiring freeze."
"Susie York, the union's president who has worked as a medical-surgical nurse at Valley Med for the last nine years, fears what a combination of understaffing and changes to Medicaid will bring to the hospital. New work requirements that determine eligibility for Medicaid will go into effect next December potentially costing several million California residents their health care coverage. Without insurance, York said that patients will likely end up treating the emergency room as their primary care doctor,"
Nurses at Santa Clara County's four public hospitals face chronic staffing shortages that already affect patient care. Delayed responses to call lights increase fall risk when patients leave beds without assistance. The Registered Nurses Professional Association, representing 4,500 nurses, is calling for an end to the county's multi-year hiring freeze through a Day of Action. More than half of the healthcare system's revenue comes from Medi-Cal. Federal Medicaid cuts under the new budget are projected to reduce county revenue by $223 million this fiscal year, prompting $200 million in required local cost savings. New Medicaid work requirements could increase uninsured patients and emergency department demand.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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