Ascension Seton nurses to hold rally for patient safety and to speak out against chronic short-staffing

Nurses say management's staffing decisions jeopardize patient care. RNs in the labor and delivery unit and neonatal ICU voted "No confidence" in their units' leadership.

Registered nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center (ASMCA) in Austin, Texas, will hold a rally and speak-out on Wednesday, Oct. 2 to protest management's refusal to address chronic short staffing that jeopardizes patient safety, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) today.

Nurses say ASMCA management also refuses to adhere to provisions of their collective bargaining agreement, including the safe staffing ratios. ASMCA nurses have filled out more than 300 assignment despite objection (ADO) forms, documenting unsafe staffing. The ADO is part of their union contract, which was ratified in March.

In July, nurses in the labor and delivery unit overwhelmingly cast votes of "no confidence" in the direction their unit was heading. In August, RNs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) unanimously voted "no confidence" in their unit's leadership. Last week, nurses spoke out against management's announcement to remove all patient care technicians (PCTs) from every intensive care unit (ICU) in the hospital, especially when management reported several pressure ulcers in the medical ICU. PCTs provide vital assistance to nurses.

"My patients are extremely fragile babies in the NICU who need continual monitoring and care," said Vanessa Villareal, RN in the NICU. "It is unconscionable to force us to care for more than two NICU babies. Our contract and guidelines set by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, say that nurses should have no more than two NICU babies in our patient assignment. But management wants us to care for three babies, a 50 percent increase."

Who: RNs at Ascension Seton Medical Center
What: Rally for patient safety, speak-out against short staffing
When: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 11:30 a.m.
Where: Ascension Seton Medical Center, front entrance of the hospital, 1201 W. 38th St. Austin, Texas

"We have been working to improve staffing but it is an uphill battle," said Kat Alvarado, RN in the labor and delivery unit. "Management continues to prioritize profits over patient care. Their staffing decisions are putting our patients at risk. Our labor and delivery unit has been chronically understaffed for over four years, leading to delays in pain relief and life-saving care. Experienced nurses are leaving the unit due to these conditions and we have nearly as many travel nurses as staff nurses in labor and delivery."

Due to their union contract, nurses have been meeting monthly with management through their Professional Practice Committee to address their concerns, but little has been done. The ASMCA nurses are deeply concerned about staff retention because nurses from the community consistently have a much better understanding of and relationship with their patients and other care team members and are familiar with hospital policies, all of which benefit patient care. Travel nurses are a temporary solution and do not solve systemic problems in the long term.

"We have been sounding the alarm about staffing issues for years," said Jason Simpson, RN in the Medical Intensive Care unit. "Enough is enough. We must have safe staffing so we can give our patients and community the quality care they deserve."

Despite the daily reports from staff that the staffing crisis is deeply impacting patient care, management continues to make poor choices, most recently slashing an incentive program that ensures nurses who work extra shifts or hours in emergency situations are compensated appropriately and that these shifts are properly incentivized. Eliminating this program will result in fewer nurses caring for the Austin community.

Ascension is building a $320 million tower to expand women's health services at ASMCA but nurses wonder how management will staff this building when they do not have safe staffing at the hospital now.

NNOC nurses have also been calling attention to Ascension's alarming closures of labor and delivery units nationwide, in contradiction to the Catholic nonprofit's mission to serve "the poor and vulnerable." The report, "Dangerous Descent: How Ascension Betrays its Mission by Gutting Care for Pregnant Patients and Babies", found the hospital system cut 26 percent of its labor and delivery units within the last decade. These closures were more likely to take place in areas with higher rates of low-income, Black, and Latine patients, who are already at greater risk of pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications and death. This trend has particularly impacted families in Austin and surrounding Travis County.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.