@sanjosespotlight<\/a> <\/p>\n Nurses gathered at Regional Medical Center and other Santa Clara County hospitals on Tuesday to protest furloughs and dangerous staffing shortages due to President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d which slashed funding for vital services including Medi-Cal. Read more at SanJoseSpotlight.com.<\/p>\n \u266c original sound \u2013 San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight<\/a> <\/p>\n Nurses rallying at Regional Medical Center called for the county to end the hiring freeze and ensure hospitals are staffed appropriately. More than six dozen nurses and organizers chanted \u201cShort staffing\u2019s gotta go!\u201d while waving signs that read, \u201cYou can\u2019t access acuity from behind a desk\u201d and \u201cCare for those who care for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCurrently, we have lack of security, lack of staffing that is affecting patient care and is jeopardizing the safety of the patients these nurses care for each and every day,\u201d Henry Soria, a representative for the Registered Nurses Professional Association, said at the rally.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, the county\u2019s hospital system, said furloughs are made when staffing levels exceed patient demand and the county is doing everything it can to preserve vital services.<\/p>\n Santa Clara County faces tough budget decisions<\/a> as it\u2019s set to lose more than $1 billion a year<\/a> due to Trump\u2019s bill. Medi-Cal<\/a> represented roughly $1.9 billion<\/a> in funding received by Santa Clara County last fiscal year. The county receives that money through reimbursements for patient care at its four county hospitals and multiple clinics.<\/p>\n Last fiscal year, the county spent more than $6 billion<\/a> on its health care system, or half of its $12 billion budget. This year, it\u2019s expected to spend more than $7 billion<\/a> on its hospitals.<\/p>\n Even though Santa Clara County voters in November passed Measure A<\/a> to increase sales taxes<\/a> in an effort to help fund health care services, the estimated $330 million<\/a> in expected annual revenue only covers a fraction of what is lost from federal cuts.<\/p>\n Santa Clara County\u2019s public hospital system is California\u2019s second largest<\/a>, with its hospitals already routinely reaching capacity<\/a>, dragging out wait times for care and appointments.<\/p>\n Resident Ed Solis knows how important the hospitals\u2019 lifesaving services are. Two years ago he had a heart attack while driving on the freeway from San Jose to Gilroy. He drove to St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy \u2014 South County\u2019s only hospital \u2014 where the emergency room was packed. Since the hospital didn\u2019t have a catheter team, they transported him to O\u2019Connor Hospital in San Jose, where nurses attended to him and offered him reassurance.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I was going to live because I was in the right hands,\u201d Solis said at the rally. \u201cGoing through that experience made me appreciate not only being alive and living, but appreciating the job that those nurses do day in and day out.\u201d<\/p>\n Nurses previously told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight furloughs have caused ICU patients to wait in the emergency room at St. Louise for 12 to 24 hours, with many nurses not taking their breaks. They said there have also been furloughs at O\u2019Connor Hospital\u2019s ICU, the neonatal intensive care units at Regional Medical Center and Valley Medical Center and the labor and delivery unit and newborn care at Regional, among other units.<\/p>\n Allan Kamara, vice president of the Registered Nurses Professional Association, said there are more than 200 unfilled medical positions across the county due to the hiring freeze.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re pleading to the community to ask the Board of Supervisors to encourage the nursing administration to release those positions,\u201d Kamara said at the rally. \u201cThose positions will help our nurses get their break relief, their meal breaks. They will be able to get support. They will have resources at the bedside.\u201d \u201cWe are in a moment where our health care system is under real strain, and county leaders, \u00a0health care administrators and public servants are facing complex and difficult choices,\u201d Green said at the rally. \u201cThey are not easy decisions, and they are being made in a landscape shaped by uncertainty, rising need and limited resources \u2026 Supporting our nurses and supporting the county are not opposing ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Joyce Chu at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or @joyce_speaks on X.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_3757-1024x768.jpeg\")
Resident Ed Solis experienced a heart attack two years ago while driving on the freeway. He said nurses at O\u2019Connor Hospital in San Jose saved his life. Photo by Joyce Chu.<\/p>\n![\"NewsMatch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765931368_655_interactive-255337946814.png\")
<\/a>Darcy Green, executive director of Latinas Contra Cancer, said supporting nurses and staffing hospitals is paramount to maintaining the trust patients have in the county\u2019s health care system.<\/p>\n