Join the Nurses of Tufts Medical Center
for a Candlelight Vigil for Safe Patient Care
When: Tuesday, Feb. 15 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Where: Outside the Main Entrance to Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington St. Boston, MA
The nurses of Tufts Medical Center are seeking community support for a Candlelight Vigil to call for desperately needed improvements in patient care conditions at this level one pediatric trauma and level two adult trauma center.
The nurses have serious concerns about recent cuts in RN staffing levels and other changes in how they deliver care that has resulted in nurses being forced to care for more patients at one time on nearly every unit. Those changes transformed this hospital from being one of the best staffed hospitals in Boston to the worst staffed hospital in the city. To compensate for chronic understaffing, TMC is using mandatory overtime, and is forcing nurses to “float” from one area of the hospital to another where they might not be competent to provide appropriate care
These practices have led to the filing of more than 520 reports of incidents that jeopardized patient care in the last year. Issues that are occurring from larger patient assignments include; delays in nursing assessment, delays in the administration of medications and tests, nurses missing significant changes in patients’ health status, poor patient outcomes, patients falling due to lack of assistance with getting up and moving around and patients being left in soiled beds for hours at a time.
The 1,200 RNs at TMC, who are currently in negotiations for a new contract, are seeking contractually guaranteed, safe staffing levels, and prohibitions against forced overtime and the inappropriate floating of nurse — all of which are needed to ensure that patients at Tufts Medical Center receive the safe care they deserve.
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