SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Nurses and healthcare workers at UCSD Health protested on Thursday, demanding the reversal of recent layoffs that left more than 200 employees without jobs, including 22 registered nurses represented by the California Nursing Association.
Among those affected was Candy Stangler, a nursing assistant in post-partum care who was on medical leave and one month away from her due date when she received the layoff notice via email.
"How am I going to pay for the birth of my baby?" Stangler said. "It was a whirlwind of emotions. One minute I was crying. And then it was 'how could they?' I got angry."
Stangler explained that her unit was already struggling with staffing shortages before the layoffs, with approximately two nursing assistants working every shift to serve more than 30 mothers and their babies. Now, she says their staffing has been cut in half.
"How are we going to give these patients what they need? The reassurance? Brand new moms, so that they can handle what they're about to walk out the door to do," Stangler said.
UCSD Health defended its decision, stating it continues to meet or exceed all nurse-to-patient staffing ratios as mandated by California law.
"We actively ensure that our staffing levels support the health and well-being of our patients and care teams across all of our clinics and hospitals," UCSD Health said in a statement.
However, nurses at the protest disagreed with the administration's assessment.
"They don't work in the hospital, they don't know anything. Our emergency room is bursting at the seams we have in-patients waiting for a bed for sometimes days," one nurse said.
UCSD Health cited mounting financial pressure caused by federal impacts on healthcare, regulatory uncertainty, and rising care costs as reasons for the layoffs.
Another protester challenged this explanation, saying, "UCSD has made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits since the pandemic and their executive makes exorbitant pay."
The nurses have contract negotiations scheduled for August and plan to include reversing the layoffs as part of their demands.
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