You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on Demand from KFI AM six forty.
With moo Kelly onk AM six. Registered nurses at Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center gave notice to their employer back on May eighth that they will hold a one day strike starting at seven am on May twenty second, to protest the hospital's refusal to what they call a dishonest engagement in good faith negotiations over needed improvements to
patient care, nurse working conditions and staffing. Joining us right now on Later with mo Kelly is registered nurse Nedra Gails to give us some sense or at least on the side of nurses, what is going on both inside the hospital and outside of it as far as negotiations. Neda Gails is nice to have you on the show tonight. How are you, Thank you, Moe.
I'm doing well.
How should I describe how desperate or I should say how concerned nurses are at the working conditions at Long Beach Memorial.
Well, the primary reason for the nurses going on strike is for the sake of our patients and also for ourselves, you know, our our protests is it's towards the management for their refusal to just address the concerns that the nurses have regarding safe patient care, staffing, workplace violence protections, and you know, just the overall well being of the pace population that we cared for at Memorial and other children.
Do I have this correct? That there was a negotiation which was planned for late last week and instead of the negotiation they handed out pink slips to various nurses. Is that correct?
The negotiation was set for last Friday and our management team decided not to appear. Our nurse negotiation team did it follow through and we were present at the table ready to meet and discuss and hopefully come together with a contract that was very inequitable, but again the management of the hospital decided that they would not come.
Tell me out what's it like on an average day in Long Beach Memorial because of these issues? Are nurses being overworked? Are they not getting the type of support and support staff that they need? What are some of the central issues which is having nurses speak out and also protests, picket and eventually go on strike May twenty second.
So mo, what we are asking for regarding the safe staffing is, you know, we want to be able to take care of our patients the best way we can, and when we have units that are not fully staffed, patients are waiting for long periods of time for care in our emergency departments. Those kinds of situations are concerning to the nurses and to the community.
Now that you are shorter staffed, because I know there have been layoffs, what is the concern, In other words, are there going to be any gaps in patient help or patient care between now and the twenty second because of these recent layoffs.
So because of one of the things that we're asking for with regards to our protests, it does have to do with services being cut to the community. An example is our outpatient children's clinics. Because of these layoffs that you mentioned of, some of those services are quite possibly not going to continue the way that the community has
known them. A prime example is the closing of of the outpatient Children's Village pharmacy, where a lot of the children that are seen in those clinics, they are having to get their medications from outside pharmacies that they're not familiar with, and some of the specialized medications are harder to attain.
If you're just tuning in, my guest right now is Nedra Gails, who is a registered nurse working at Long Beach Memorial. We're talking about how nurses have given notice to their employer that on May twenty second, they plan to go on a one day strike starting at seven am on May twenty second, to bring more like to negotiations with it, which at this point have been stalled over needed improvements to patient care, working conditions and staffing.
And Netje let me pick up there on May twenty second. If things progress as they seem to be progressing, what does that one day strike look like? And how many nurses are we talking about? Everyone? How does the hospital continue to function without your work.
So well? One of the big deals about this strike. We proposed a one day strike starting on May twenty second and ending the night of May twenty second. The management of the hospital has elected to lock us out until well for four days, so it'll be a tool of five days that you know we will be away from the bedside.
Does that let me jump in there? Does that mean that patients will be lacking for care or will they be bringing in other nurses from other locations or other physicians assistance if you will to cover the gap while you are not working there during that time.
So during the time that we are out on strike, the hospital management has made the decision to bring in replacement, and it comes on that decision comes on the heels of the approximately eighty nurses that have been laid off, and it gives kind of a mixed what's the word like? It gives us Yeah, because the hospital is investing in outside workforce when there have been nurses that have been laid off from their jobs, and then we we're willing
and are willing to come back to work after our protests. No, it doesn't really like balance. Now.
I don't want to get to a far ahead of what your union is proposing to do. But in a general sense, if we continue on this path and management at Long Beach Memorial is reluctant to negotiate, or does not start restart negotiations, or does not meet your demands prior to the strike at this point is listed as one day, but could this then be extended for an indeterminate amount of time and just go on into in perpetuity until your demands have been met.
Them? You know, again, our negotiations team is willing and wanting to reach an agreement before any type of decision like that is made, because the nurses really want to take care of our patients. That's what we really want to do.
Let me ask you this, what is morale like among many of the nurses that you work with, those who you speak with. I have some friends full disclosure, who do work at Long Beach Memorial, and I know what they say to me about their level of frustration. What is it you here beyond what you experience.
The nurses that I have experienced. The feeling is we all want the same things. We want scatting to improve. We want our paces to be taken care of in a safe manner, and we want to provide a safe place for the patients and for the nurse.
Is at the end of the day, before I let you go, Metric Gails, I wonder have you found any solidarity or support from the other staff at the hospital. I mean from doctors, I don't know, radiologists, anyone else who may work alongside by side with you in the hospital Long Beach Memorial. What have they been saying? Are they willing to stand with you on any level?
I can say more that there is a great deal of solidarity for this particular action and for the want that our nurses have put forth.
She is Netric Gails, registered nurse at Long Beach Memorial and I would say a representative of the fight to improve nursing conditions at Long Beach Medical Center. Metric Gaels I have been following this issue from AFAR, but now I'm a little bit more closely involved in a associated and watching it evolve. Can we have you back on the future in the future so we can further follow up on this.
Nod If you would call me, I would come absolutely.
We'll have you again. It's Later with Mo Kelly. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and also on YouTube at mister mo Kelly m R M O K E.
L L Y.
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from KFI A M six forty