As a registered nurse for 30 years, a potential strike at Swedish hospitals troubles me. What is more troubling however, is our fears that management has taken a position against reasonable and prudent steps to keep colleagues and patients safe.
Last month four staff were injured by good people going through crisis, people who are your neighbors, the people who smile at you every day. We care for them returning them to health. Nursing’s paramount goal is to heal. Impediments such as understaffing. (when an RN takes a lunch break our caseload doubles) are an albatross around our arms and hands.
We believe that in their hearts, management at Swedish wants the same things. We are asking then why place impediments preventing an agreement designed to strengthen patient care and safety? We feel we must bring this to the communities’ attention, our hopes for change.
We are dedicated and caring people. We want to help you in your time of need but our employer does not calls out for us so that we can fulfill our promise to you, So we strike when Swedish states they care about us but their actions say the opposite. We are sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, and we want you to hear our collective voice.
Gary Goins
Edmonds
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