Hospital Center Layoffs Worry Nurses

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The layoff of hundreds of staffers at MedStar Washington Hospital Center announced Monday have local nurses worried about the impact on patients, even though none of the cuts involve bedside nurses. “No one here is excess,” said Stephen Frum, a nurse on the MWHC burn/surgical intensive care unit and chief nurse representative for the National Nurses Union (NNU). “Everyone here is a vital part of the team,” Frum told Union City. “We’re very concerned about the impact of these layoffs on our patients and absolutely oppose any reduction in hospital staff.”  SEIU 722 President Dan Field confirmed that 100 of the estimated 300 jobs being cut are members of Local 722, which represents blue-collar hospital staff at WHC, from medical office assistants to clerical staff and orderlies. “Things were fine at the end of the previous fiscal year three months ago,” said Frum, “this is just wrong.” photo: Frum testifying at recent DC City Council Paid Sick Days hearing.