Hospital staffing change challenged Hospital staffing change challenged (June 11, 2004)

Union, hospital disagree on nursing assignments

By Julie O'Shea

Due to a new state law, El Camino Hospital said it plans to replace 12 certified nursing assistants in the maternity ward with 11.46 licensed nursing positions by the end of the summer.

The announcement has members of the local Service Employees International Union crying foul, saying patient care will be compromised and longtime nursing assistants will be out of work.

But this is not the case, said hospital spokesperson Judy Twitchell.

"CNAs are not being laid off," she said. "They can be placed in other positions in the hospital." Twitchell added the hospital has more openings for nursing assistants than people to fill the slots.

However, union spokesperson Andrew Hagelshaw said the nursing assistants feel they haven't really been given a good enough reason why they are being released from the maternity ward.

"It seems a little odd because the hospital just passed that Measure D," Hagelshaw said, referring to the $148-million bond measure that will go toward rebuilding the hospital. "They're certainly not losing money at El Camino Hospital."

Twitchell said the decision was not about money but rather a new state law that requires a certain number of licensed nurses -- registered or vocational nurses -- to be in a department at any given time. Nursing assistants, while certified, are not licensed staff.

But union reps said they think it's odd that the hospital would choose to replace a nursing assistant with a certified nurse. The two positions don't have the same job descriptions, they added.

Evelia Cruz, who works in the maternity ward as an administrative support employee, said nursing assistants are usually the ones who take patients' vital signs and walk them to the restroom and around the unit.

"They assist with every small detail you can imagine," Cruz said, noting that most of them are bilingual, speaking either Tagalog or Spanish.

"There was no communication between the administration and the employees," Cruz said. "All of a sudden they drop this bomb on us."

Twitchell, however, said the new law went into effect in January, and hospital administration has been going through each department making the necessary changes.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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