By Terry Miller
A handful of registered nurses gathered outside Huntington Memorial Hospital Monday demanding two nurses who were reportedly fired last week be reinstated and called for unionization so that issues like the recent “superbug” outbreak are immediately handled and public notified.
“Injury to one is an injury to all” was the mantra as they marched to deliver a petition signed by 200 nurses to reinstate the two terminated nurses.
RN Allysha Almada testified before a community panel last month about the nurses’ efforts to organize collectively and also had her face featured on a bus campaign. Almada’s colleagues say it was her outspoken advocacy that led to her firing.
Almada said one reason she was so outspoken to bring union representation to the registered nurses at Huntington Memorial Hospital was that nurses who see problems such as the recent “superbug” outbreak. “UCLA found out about this problem months ago. Cedars found out about this problem months ago, but Huntington continued to use those scopes. Nurses knew this was a problem but they weren’t able to stand up to advocate for the patient’s safety because of the culture of fear,” according to Almada
Huntington Memorial alerted health authorities Wednesday to a potential link between three Huntington patients who were found to have the pseudomonas bacteria “superbug,” and Olympus Corp. duodenoscopes that were used to treat the patients.
The bacteria — which can be deadly — can become trapped inside the reusable devices, potentially putting future patients at risk.
Monday’s rally was organized with the help of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) which on Friday announced that it had filed an unfair labor charge against the hospital’s management.
Huntington Hospital confirmed that two nurses were let go but declined to go into any specifics.
“We can confirm that Allysha Almada and Vicki Lin are no longer employed at Huntington Hospital. Legally, we are unable to comment on the specifics of any personnel issue; however our guiding principles in decision making are based on ensuring patient safety – and providing quality patient care as a trusted community resource.” – Gloria Sanchez-Rico, Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive.
