Registered nurses at Massillon, Ohio-based Affinity Medical Center held a patient safety vigil Wednesday, claiming understaffing issues at the hospital are threatening patient care, reports The Independent.
Nurses held the vigil outside of the hospital, holding signs that read, "Safe staffing saves lives." They cited nearly 600 incidents where nurses believed inadequate staffing put patients' safety at risk.
"Our No. 1 priority is wanting to care for our patients properly with the right equipment and staff," Debbie McKinney, RN, a nurse at Affinity Medical Center, told The Independent.
The nurses recently brought their concerns to hospital administration, according to the report. Affinity Medical Center did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment.
Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Affinity Medical Center for comment and will update as more information becomes available.
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