Nurses Issue Report Documenting Unsafe Patient Care At Washington Hospital Center

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

National Nurses United (NNU) filed a report Monday morning with the DC Department of Health detailing dozens of instances of unsafe patient care at Washington Hospital Center, and requested that the DC government investigate and take action. Hundreds of WHC nurses, together with community leaders, marched to the offices of hospital management to hand-deliver the report and urge the hospital not to wait on regulatory action but to negotiate patient care and other concerns with the nurses immediately. “It is clear from the documentation that many units are understaffed, and that when this is the case, there is no mechanism to provide safe patient care” said Dru Gist, RN, a surgical intensive care nurse who has participated on the quality patient-care committee. “There must be a mechanism to respond to the concerns of registered nurses to provide safe patient care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to advocate for our patients.” Although WHC nurses recently voted overwhelmingly to unify with NNU, hospital management has yet to recognize NNU or bargain a new contract, acting instead to unilaterally impose new terms and conditions of employment, including cutting pay, reducing paid time off and eliminating the labor-management patient-care committee. “What is going on in Washington Hospital Center is a concern not just to the nurses but to the entire community,” said Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, just up the street from the hospital. “It is outrageous that hospital management would treat its nurses with such disrespect, even to the point of compromising patient care.” Hagler and Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams, who accompanied the nurses yesterday morning, urged the hospital to immediately “sit down with NNU and negotiate a new agreement that treats the nurses justly and ensures there are a sufficient number of nurses on the job to take care of the patients.” – report/photos by Chris Garlock