Fix the 7 South Staffing Crisis

Last May, you asked the nurses of USC to complete a nursing satisfaction survey. As you are aware, 7 South had lower scores in all areas of the survey. We are now asking you to make changes that will not only improve the satisfaction of our nurses, but will also fix the patient safety crisis that is being faced in 7 South. We have struggled with a staffing shortage for over a year, and have been asking you to address the situation since Huron was hired and the nursing restructuring occurred. The deplorable conditions under which we have been working has caused mental and physical stress. We exhibit signs of nursing burnout, yet we are told that we are the cause, and that we need to create a solution in order to be able to have new staff hired into our unit. No consideration has been made into the cause of our fatigue; no thought pondered for the immense amount of pressure under which we work. We have just been told to wait. As patient advocates, this petition is informing you that it is in our professional opinion that we can wait no longer. The staffing crisis is unsafe, and is placing patients and nurses at risk. These demands are what are necessary to increase morale, improve satisfaction scores, increase nurse retention, and prepare us for achieving Magnet status. How bad does the staffing crisis have to be; how many more patients are going to be negatively impacted by not receiving the proper care they need and deserve; and how many more work-related injuries will there be before you recognize the unique needs of 7 South and our patients? You are now notified that in our professional judgments the staffing situation is unsafe and places our patients and staff at risk. Under protest, we will attempt to care for our patients to the best of our ability, but it is you who are now responsible for any adverse effects on patient care due to the staffing crisis. We would like to meet with you and our union representative to discuss a plan of implementation within the next two weeks.