Hunter
09/29/22
After being notified that the upcoming month may find University of Iowa Health care nursing staff having to care for up to five patients at once, a protest against the working conditions is scheduled to happen today.
An email provided to the Gazette from a UIHC leader said, “The first two weeks of October present the most staffing challenges. But the challenges will continue for the adult inpatient staffing through mid-November.”
A Facebook event page on the protest said the nurses refuse to let hospital administrators make poor decisions that affect quality of care because of them being unable to plan well. The newspaper also reports that there are 380 open nursing positions on the UI job website.
Interim UIHC CEO Kim Hunter said in a statement that the hospital is committed to providing safe, high-quality care that Iowans trust them to deliver. She added that in health care, staffing is flexible, with constantly changing patient care needs.
The hospital is currently 93% full.
The protest is planned from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Hawkins Drive outside Parking Ramp 3.