Alaska nurses and advocates rally for safe staffing

Braving cold temperatures and gusty winds, more than 70 nurses and community supporters gathered across from Providence Alaska Medical Center on Dec. 15, to demand safe staffing levels and oppose staffing reductions that nurses say put patient safety at risk. The Safe Staffing Rally was organized by nurses represented by the Alaska Nurses Association to address staffing reductions implemented by Providence that nurses say heighten safety risks and threaten the quality of care nurses can provide.

For example a medical-surgical unit has lost its resource nurse, a critical support for safe patient care. Nurses on the unit, already caring for six patients each, face increased workloads. In addition, nurses on the progressive care unit are now caring for five patients each. These units provide an intermediate level of care between an ICU and a medical-surgical unit. Backed by patient safety experts, California and Oregon have set a legal limit of three patients per nurse in this setting.

“We are in a fight against Providence and what they’re trying to do in our hospital. We cannot stand by and let them continue. We need to speak up for our patients’ safety,” said Jane Erickson, a registered nurse and vice president of the Providence Registered Nurses bargaining unit of AaNA.

The rally follows more than a year of advocacy by nurses, who raised concerns through unit-based staffing committees, collective bargaining and public advocacy. Nurses warned that higher patient loads and the loss of key support staff would compromise care, but Providence executives implemented the reductions despite nurses’ objections.

“They are doing so despite the vulnerability of my patients. They are doing so despite the recommendations of our staffing committees and union leadership. Nurses were already struggling under the workload demanded of us prior to these staffing reductions,” said Colby Teller, an AaNA member and registered nurse. “These reductions force us to make even harder choices about which patients deserve more of our time and attention.”

“Decades of empirical research demonstrates that there is a 7 percent increase in mortality risk for every extra patient a nurse is assigned to care for,” said Bryan Lane, an AaNA member and registered nurse.

Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, also addressed the rallying crowd. Hall highlighted the solidarity of nurses and their power to stand up for safe staffing. 

Nurses pledged to continue advocating for safe staffing and protecting patients. “We will keep raising our voices until Providence commits to staffing levels that prioritize quality care,” said Erickson.

Lane concluded with a direct appeal to the public, stating, “One day you will be a patient. When that day comes, you deserve high-quality care without the concern that your nurse will be burdened by hospital-driven staffing reductions that put those excellent patient outcomes at significant risk.”

[Adrienne Coles, Alaska Nurses Association press release]