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<\/p>\nREDDING, Calif. \u2014 Nurses and health care workers at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding returned to the picket line Thursday afternoon, saying they are fighting for safer staffing and better working conditions after months of negotiations they say have stalled.<\/p>\n
Nurses and caregivers said they have been negotiating for improved work conditions since last summer and are now demanding to be heard, alleging management has backed away from the bargaining table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to come back to the table, we need a contract, we need to have that you know stability here,\u201d Michelle Gaffney, an ICU nurse, said during the picket.<\/p>\n
Nurses and health care workers at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding returned to the picket line Thursday afternoon, saying they are fighting for safer staffing and better working conditions after months of negotiations they say have stalled. 6\/11\/26 (KRCR)<\/p>\n
Workers held a strike vote and informational picket Thursday afternoon after raising concerns that include a lack of a late-night pharmacy, poor staffing in the ICU, ER and behavioral health unit, the elimination of essential services and workplace safety issues. They said their concerns have not been addressed.<\/p>\n
When asked what responses they have received from corporate, Matthew Youn, a nurse assistant, replied: \u201cSilence, we would love for them to come back to the bargaining table in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young also said they believe the issues extend beyond Redding, calling it a broader problem at hospitals owned by Prime Healthcare. He pointed to a Prime Healthcare hospital in Chicago that also went on strike Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a history of cutting services, cutting staff and not putting anything back into the hospital or the community at large,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n
Gaffney said staffing shortages and service reductions can directly affect patient care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a danger to the patients because of the longer wait times. When you need a nurse, a nurse’s aide, or a respiratory therapist and you have to wait, that is a problem,\u201d Gaffney said.<\/p>\n
Shasta Regional Medical Center responded to the allegations in a statement, saying: \u201cShasta Regional Medical Center respects the right of nurses and staff to engage in lawful protected activity. Shasta Regional Medical Center has comprehensive plans in place to ensure uninterrupted hospital operations and patient care during the announced informational picket and patients should continue to seek care as needed.<\/p>\n
Hospital workers said they hope Thursday\u2019s strike vote pushes management back to the bargaining table. <\/p>\n
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