RENO, April 3, 2008 – America’s emergency rooms are in crisis. Since 1997, wait times have increased every year by 4%.[1] The new emergency department at Renown was supposed to streamline and improve the flow of patients from the emergency room to their own private patient suites. While the inpatient beds for admitted patients are there, but the staff to care for those patients isn’t. The result – patients at Renown are STILL waiting in the emergency department longer than necessary.
My Story, by Jeff Pierce, RN, ER
“I’ve been taking care of patients for 32 years at Renown, as an ER nurse since 1980. Never before have I felt so concerned about my ability to get my job done without risking my own safety and my nursing license.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. It’s hard to imagine at one time we had the staffing and equipment we needed, especially considering the working conditions now. Reno is growing fast, and the staffing levels at Renown haven’t been increased to keep up. We as nurses are feeling the strain of the workload.
“I think if we had the proper staffing levels that I could make a bigger difference. Patients would be less stressed and confused. Nurses would be able to talk through what’s going on and what to expect as far their treatment goes. With 5 or more patients with all types of conditions, this just isn’t possible.
“I have a fear of losing my license. I come home exhausted. It’s really draining to have to run from room to room and not be able to deliver the kind of care I would want a family member to have.
“I’m really glad we’re taking our cause to the public. Nothing can make up for the fact that there isn’t enough staff. That’s why we’ve all united together to make sure management does the right thing.”
Experts Agree! Patients are at risk at night.
Several recent studies have pointed to the lack of staff both in emergency rooms and throughout hospitals as a contributor to emergency department crowding. A 2008 Harvard study published in the prestigious Health Affairs journal noted “shortages of hospital staff” as one reason for yearly 4% increases in emergency room wait times.
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine,[2] studied the crisis in America’s emergency department system – everything from diverted ambulances to overcrowded emergency rooms where patients wait first to be seen and then for an inpatient bed. The study found that a lack of nurses willing to work in the tough conditions of both the emergency department and inpatient units at hospitals to exacerbate the problem.
SEIU Nevada nurses are asking Renown – help us spend more time helping patients by fully staffing our hospital!
This is the 3rd story in a 10-day countdown to the SEIU Nevada RN rally for quality care at Renown! For more information about SEIU contract negotiations at Renown, to interview a nurse or to talk to an academic expert about why we need enforceable staffing ratios in our hospitals, contact Hilary Haycock at 745-1532 or hhaycock@seiunv.org. Or visit our website at http://www.seiunv.org/healthcare/renonurses/Default.aspx.
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[1] Andrew P. Wilper, Steffie Woolhandler, Karen E. Lasser, Danny McCormick, Sarah L. Cutrona, David H. Bor and David U. Himmelstein, “Waits To See An Emergency Department Physician: U.S. Trends And Predictors, 1997–2004,” Health Affairs, 27, no. 2 (2008): w84-w95.
[2] Arthur L. Kellermann, “Crisis in the Emergency Room,” New England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 28, 2006, Volume 355:1300-1303.