Registered nurses at John Muir Health (JMH) in Concord, California, are raising their voices to advocate for critical improvements in patient safety. On Tuesday, March 26th, these dedicated nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), organized an informational picket to bring attention to pressing issues, most notably inadequate staffing levels and the escalating threat of workplace violence. These challenges, nurses argue, directly compromise their ability to deliver optimal patient care at the John Muir Health, Concord Medical Center, located in Concord, CA.
Patient Safety Concerns Drive John Muir Concord CA Nurses’ Picket
For nurses at John Muir Concord, the core concern is patient safety, which they believe is directly linked to their working conditions. Cindi Marsh, an experienced RN working in the medical-surgical intensive care unit, articulated the changes she’s witnessed over her 24-year career. “The needs of patients have changed,” Marsh stated, emphasizing the necessity for a care environment that truly prioritizes safety. Nurses are striving to provide focused, high-quality care to patients and their families during health crises, but they feel hampered by current conditions. The informational picket served as a public demonstration of their commitment to patient well-being and a call for John Muir Health, Concord Medical Center to address these critical shortcomings.
Demands for Improved Staffing and Workplace Violence Prevention at John Muir Concord
The nurses’ demands are clear and focused: JMH must take concrete steps to bolster health and safety measures. This includes improving pandemic readiness, a lesson learned acutely in recent years. Crucially, they are calling for adequate relief staffing. This measure is essential to ensure nurses can take legally mandated meal and rest breaks without the constant worry of leaving patients unattended and potentially jeopardizing patient safety. Furthermore, workplace violence prevention is a paramount concern. Nurses are advocating for a direct voice in developing and implementing effective violence prevention strategies, aiming to proactively stop violent incidents before they occur within the John Muir Concord facility. These improvements are not just for the benefit of the nurses themselves; they are fundamental to ensuring the highest possible standards of patient care. The current situation, nurses report, leads to moral distress and burnout, pushing experienced nurses to seek employment elsewhere, further exacerbating staffing issues at John Muir Concord, CA.
Katelyn Mobeen, a cardiovascular intensive care unit RN, highlighted the detrimental impact of nurse attrition. “A balance of skills and experience is crucial on every unit. When nurses leave, we feel it deeply,” Mobeen explained. She emphasized that John Muir Health possesses the resources to address these issues and urged the administration to take decisive action to support its nursing staff and, by extension, its patients at the Concord Medical Center.
Contract Negotiations Aim to Resolve Issues at John Muir Health, Concord
The backdrop to this picket is the ongoing contract negotiations between the nurses and John Muir Health. Negotiations for a new contract commenced in late August 2023, and nurses are determined to leverage this process to secure improved working conditions and professional standards. They firmly believe that a robust contract is the most effective mechanism to drive meaningful safety improvements at the Concord facility and to attract and retain qualified nurses in the long term.
The nurses point to John Muir Health’s financial performance as evidence of the hospital’s capacity to meet their demands. During the pandemic year of 2021, JMH reportedly generated a net income of $239 million, a significant increase from $176 million in 2020. Simultaneously, the CEO’s compensation in 2020 reached $2.5 million. Despite these substantial profits, nurses contend that management’s focus remains on cost-cutting measures, often at the expense of bedside nurses and the patients under their care at John Muir Concord, CA. Through their collective action and contract negotiations, the nurses at John Muir Health, Concord are striving to re-align priorities, placing patient safety and nurse well-being at the forefront.
