ST. LOUIS — Nurses at a Saint Louis University Hospital fear low staffing levels could put their healthcare in jeopardy. It's why they took to the street Wednesday in protest -- hoping for a resolution from SSM Health.
As of Wednesday, nurses say they are working without a contract. But, they are engaging in negotiations to bring about changes that they say will help keep patients safe.
When you go to the hospital, you expect to come out better than you came in. It's why many who work in the healthcare field do it.
"I go to work every day because I have a calling. I cannot tell you how many times I've felt like I was the right nurse at the right place,” nurse Hadas Becker said.
Becker joined the picket line on Wednesday.
She and her counterparts chanted and rallied outside Saint Louis University Hospital to call for better pay and adequate staffing.
"I work in the (emergency department). I see critical patients every day. I've seen situations where nurses have been assigned to five patients and any one of those patients could become critical at any moment and require CPR or anything like that and I only got one pair of hands you know?" Nurse Michael James Block said.
The National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United say for more than a year there's been a 30% vacancy rate for registered nurses.
Becker says traveling nurses are coming in to help, making up to three times more than local staff.
"They don't know our systems. They don't know our doctors. They don't know where things are and we spend a lot of our time having to help them out and we want core staff that knows what we’re doing," she said.
"Let us do our jobs. Give us the staffing that we need to ensure that our patients are well taken care of and safe,” Block added.
SSM Health spokesperson Elizabeth Brennan shared the following statement:
“SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate, high-quality care for our patients and the community. We are grateful for the unwavering dedication of our entire SLUH team to our Mission and those we serve. On May 11, SLUH and the National Nurses Organizing Committee began negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. Today, from 5:30-8:30 pm, the NNOC will hold an informational picket in front of the SLUH campus as part of their negotiation plan. Patient safety is our top priority, and we remain undeterred in our Mission to always provide exceptional health care services to our patients."