KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasNurses Off The Job at Two Las Vegas Hospitals
Hundreds of nurses are off the job at Valley and Desert Springs hospitals today. They've hit the picket line after negotiations between the nurses union and the hospital went stale over the weekend.
The Service Employees International Union members and the hospitals aren't fighting over money, but rather union access and what the nurses describe as sub-standard staffing.
Joined by a beefed up security presence, more than 1000 Valley Hospital employees gathered together outside the front entrance at 6 a.m., a time on any other day the union nurses would be starting their shift.
Donna West, a Valley Hospital nurse, said, "The nurses in this hospital are taking care of too many patients at one time."
The nurses union spent the weekend meeting with hospital officials to try to come to an agreement. But with neither party able to come to terms on the staffing issues at hand, the nurses hope Monday's strike sends a message.
Karen Kinimaka, Valley Hospital ICU nurse, said, "We're trying to get better staffing ratios. That's what we're here for. We're trying to take care of our patients."
Sharen Smith is also a Valley Hospital ICU nurse. "We do care for our patients. We want to be there with our own patients and employment."
Desert Springs and Valley hospitals contracted with hundreds of temporary workers from all over the nation to fill the shifts left behind by the union nurses.
Valley says while the picket lines may be chaotic outside of the hospital. Inside, with the help from the temporary nurses, business is as usual.
CEO Greg Boyer said, "They're licensed in Nevada, trained or, trained ICU nurses."
"They are receiving wonderful care. Patients are getting the best of care," said Michele Nichols, Valley Hospital chief nursing officer.
CNO Michele Nichols says the temporary nurses are available as long as it takes. She told Eyewitness News the surgery schedule hasn't been interrupted.
A union official says they wanted to honor a call for a 30-day cooling-off period to continue contract talks and avoid a job action. But he says the hospital owner -- Universal Health Services Incorporated of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania -- rejected that idea.
Together, the two hospitals account for 695 beds in Las Vegas.
In a statement issued Sunday, Governor-Elect Jim Gibbons, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said they hoped more talks could keep the nurses on the job and avert a public health crisis.
If you are planning on coming down to the hospital today, allow for extra time.
