Bakersfield Memorial Hospital nurses, community members intensify pressure on hospital to keep burn unit open

Frontline caregivers will deliver community petition demonstrating popular opposition to closure

Registered nurses, community members, labor advocates, and local supporters will hold a press conference on Friday, May 1 outside Bakersfield Memorial Hospital to demand hospital leadership reverse plans to close the hospital's burn unit.

At the event, nurses and supporters will deliver a community petition urging hospital leadership to preserve lifesaving specialized care for the Central Valley and surrounding communities and work collaboratively on solutions that protect patient care access.

Who: Bakersfield Memorial Hospital RNs, community members, labor advocates, supporters
What: Press conference and petition delivery to protect local burn care services
When: Friday, May 1, 2026 at 9:30 a.m.
Where: Bakersfield Memorial Hospital

The Burn Unit has long served patients in Kern County and beyond, providing critical treatment for patients suffering severe burns, complex wounds, and related injuries. In addition to serving local residents, the unit has also accepted patients transferred from surrounding regions, including California's Central Coast, when capacity at other facilities has been limited.

Nurses say eliminating these services would force vulnerable patients and their families to travel farther for urgent treatment, delay access to specialized care, and increase strain on already impacted emergency departments and hospitals throughout the region.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.