El Paso Nurses Call Attention To Hospital Issues

Nurses in El Paso would like the public to know a few things about how they are treated in hospitals which could, in turn, affect the quality of care and how we are treated in those hospitals.

The National Nurses United, (NNU), acts on behalf of nurses and patients in El Paso, working to improve things for both. That means more to the patients than you might think.

Wages and benefits, perks, etc are important to any group or union but the NNU also works to improve things for the patients as well.

Every 3 years, negotiations take place between NNU and HCA ... a large group that owns a number of hospitals including Las Palmas and Del Sol here in El Paso ... covering just about every aspect of nursing.

The usual work stuff like wages, benefits, vacation time, 401K's, etc. NNU recently asked for a raise and got a measly 1% which comes to about a dollar. From a huge company, making zillions of dollars, that already pays less than every other hospital in El Paso.

Professionals who worked hard to earn 4 year degrees and who deal with unreal stress levels, (holding peoples lives in their hands), in what should be a well paid position, are barely making ends meet. Personally, I want my nurse worried about me - not the water bill.

Unless you're a nurse, that probably doesn't matter but there are other things being negotiated that should. The HCA overlords also rejected a lot of non - wage related requests made by NNU.

Things like:

• Providing a lunch and break relief nurse. Do you want your nurse hopping up and down because they can't use the restroom? How about unfocused or shaky because they haven't eaten in 12 hours? That's what happens without relief nurses since YOUR nurse can't leave the area for any reason.
• Limiting the unsafe use of technology and AI. Do you want the personal attention of one of a team of nurses, or do you want to be one of "x" number of patients just being watched on a monitor by a "virtual" baby sitter?
• Inappropriately flexing nurses. Sure, nurses can be moved from place to place but they are often moved to areas they have not been properly trained in. Just to save money.

I guess the overlords don't want the millions of dollars they make lessened by expenses that make the nurses lives easier and increase the odds of yours being saved or bettered.

A couple of things to ask when choosing a hospital: #1 - Ask who owns it. #2 - Ask a few nurses about their work environment. Questions like that tend to draw attention from the big bosses ...