Nurses and health care workers at AHMC's San Gabriel Valley Medical Center and Whittier Hospital Medical Center to hold candlelight vigils for patient safety

Nurses demand AHMC address chronic short staffing and lack of recruitment and retention of experience nurses

Nurses and health care workers at two AHMC facilities in Los Angeles, County will hold candlelight vigils on Wed., Oct. 23 to highlight their serious concerns about patient safety at their hospitals, announced California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) and Caregivers and Healthcare Employee Union/California Nurses Association (CNA/CHEU). The vigil at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center in San Gabriel, Calif., will happen in the morning, while the vigil at Whittier Hospital Medical Center in Whittier, Calif., is scheduled for the evening,

"As nurses and health care workers who have dedicated our lives to caring for our neighbors and our community, we are calling on AHMC to put patients first and provide us the resources we need to bring our community the highest quality of care," said Roni Rocha, a registered nurse at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center. "AHMC has a history of failing to do the right thing in our hospitals and is short-changing our patients. We are demanding they address the staffing, facility, and recruitment and retention issues that plague our hospitals."

Who:Registered nurses and health care workers at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center

What:Candlelight vigil for patient safety

When:Weds. Oct. 23, 6 a.m.

Where:San Gabriel Valley Medical Center 438 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel, Calif.

Who:Registered nurses at Whittier Hospital Medical Center

What:Candlelight vigil for patient safety

When:Weds. Oct. 23, 6 p.m.

Where:Whittier Hospital Medical Center 9080 Colima Road, Whittier, Calif.

Nurses say AHMC has failed to maintain the San Gabriel Valley Medical Center and they have seen numerous safety violations over the last several years, including broken elevators, faulty medical equipment, and unstable temperatures throughout the hospital. In 2023, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) cited the hospital after a surgery had to be interrupted due to extreme heat in the operating room.

"AHMC has a basic responsibility to ensure that our facility is safe for our patients and that equipment is working," said Rocha. "When we have broken elevators or can't find a working IV pump, our patients' care may be delayed unnecessarily. When the hospital is too hot or too cold, it interrupts care and can make it difficult for our patients to recuperate and heal."

The lack of comprehensive new-hire training at Whittier Hospital Medical Center has meant that new nurses are leaving for other area hospitals because they do not feel they are getting the professional training they need to grow.

"We are committed to mentoring our new nurses and we would like to see them stay and work with us, but they often feel that there are better opportunities elsewhere in hospitals that have strong training resources," said Helen Dungo, a registered nurse at Whittier Hospital Medical Center. "We are losing promising new nurses and seasoned nurses because of the working conditions and lack of staffing."

Nurses at Whittier Hospital Medical Center say they're working with barebones staffing and without adequate resources. They say charge nurses, who are supposed to oversee the flow of patients and provide support and assistance for nurses, are unable to focus on those responsibilities because they're forced to provide break and meal relief. They say it is not uncommon for nurses to work 12-hour shifts without any break, as there is no one available to relieve them.

"When you are responsible for keeping your patients alive, you never want to leave their care to someone who is already overburdened with responsibilities," said Dungo. "Nursing is a demanding job, physically, emotionally, and mentally. We all need time to eat and recuperate, so we can be there for our patients. This kind of moral injury leads to nurses and caregivers leaving our hospital."

Nurses and caregivers say AHMC has not only failed to provide its hospitals with the resources they need, but failed the communities it serves. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is currently suing AHMC for closing Seton Medical Center Coastside in Moss Beach, Calif. Bonta says the closure was a violation of a 2020 agreement and AHMC is "placing patient care and public health at risk."

Nurses say AHMC's disregard for public needs and patient safety led AHMC management to close the neonatal intensive care unit and maternal child health services at San Gabriel Valley Hospital last year.

"Cutting services to our most vulnerable populations, such as sick infants and birthing parents, is inexcusable," said Rocha. "We need to be there for our patients from their first breath to their last. That is the commitment we make to our patients, we call on AHMC to make that same commitment."

California Nurses Association represents more than 330 nurses at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center and nearly 300 nursesat Whittier Hospital Medical Center. Caregivers and Healthcare Employee Union represents nearly 370 health care workers at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center.

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 nearly 225,000 RNs nationwide. Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU) is an affiliate of California Nurses Association.