Nurses protested outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Wednesday, protesting new scheduling changes that they say could force the layoffs of 200 nurses in the university’s public health system.
Carrying signs reading “UC, Respect Your Nurses” and “We Are Not Disposable,” dozens of nurses gathered outside the Westwood medical facility following a decision by UCLA management to change the schedules of so-called float pool nurses. For years, these nurses could schedule four shifts at any time during the month, but starting May 25, the hospital will require them to work at least one shift a week, according to the National Nurses United union.
“These changes could lead to mass layoffs, negatively impact patient safety and create unsafe staffing levels within UCLA Health,” reads a May 24 statement from the union.
Employees from that union and the California Nurses Association participated in the protests on Wednesday.
Float nurses have versatile expertise, as they work in multiple hospital departments and usually cover staff shortages. According to National Nurses United, they were previously recruited with “the promise of flexibility” – which led to “family nurse hiring, elder care roles, second jobs and higher education goals.” According to the union, this has led to many more nurses being available to work in the hospital.
But now, the union says, as many as 200 nurses will be forced to resign because of the stricter schedule changes, something they say will jeopardize patient care and cost people their jobs.
However, UCLA Health has given no indication that it will halt or even reconsider the new scheduling changes. The public health system released a statement on Wednesday in response to the protests.
“UCLA Health flexibly recruits, trains and deploys nurses consistent with our highest priority of providing safe, high-quality patient care and in accordance with state mandated staffing levels,” said Phil Hampton, spokesperson for UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine. , said a statement.
“We appreciate the commitment, compassion and skills of our nurses and are confident in the details of our staffing program,” Hampton said.
According to National Nurses United, managers at UCLA told nurses at a May 14 staff meeting that they would simply hire replacement workers if 20% of float pool nurses decided to quit.
Neil Rudis, a registered nurse and union representative for UCLA’s float pool nurses, said the new changes “pose a clear threat to nurses and their patients,” who will ultimately bear the burden of the “arbitrary, ill-conceived ‘solutions’ of management for a problem of their own making,” the union said in a statement.
UCLA released a report in June 2023 on the impact of hiring float pool nurses. The in-house team of so-called floaters resulted in a 43% drop in reliance on contracted medical providers, who are usually travel nurses, the report said.
The report also states that it has been more cost-effective to employ a centralized team of floating nurses in the public health system, as opposed to traveling nurses or just those with permanent staff.
