Nurses at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota (Fla.) have gathered today in protest of the hospital's plan to launch a cardiac stent program over concerns of inadequate staffing and training, according to a Herald-Tribune report.
The nurses, who joined the union National Nurses United in March, are asking for comprehensive training and additional staffing to monitor stent patients after the procedure. The union's goal is a nationwide nurse-patient ratio of one to three. The unit at Doctors Hospital where stent patients would be cared for currently has a ratio of one nurse to five or six patients. While hospital administration has said it will change the ratio to one to four, some nurses are concerned about the additional work nurses in other units would face due to the ratio change.
The hospital has said the nurses' claims are unfounded. The hospital's statement said "The new stent capability will be a quality program staffed by a dedicated and fully competent team of health professionals, trained and equipped to meet the needs of patients who arrive in a cardiac emergency," according to the report.
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The nurses, who joined the union National Nurses United in March, are asking for comprehensive training and additional staffing to monitor stent patients after the procedure. The union's goal is a nationwide nurse-patient ratio of one to three. The unit at Doctors Hospital where stent patients would be cared for currently has a ratio of one nurse to five or six patients. While hospital administration has said it will change the ratio to one to four, some nurses are concerned about the additional work nurses in other units would face due to the ratio change.
The hospital has said the nurses' claims are unfounded. The hospital's statement said "The new stent capability will be a quality program staffed by a dedicated and fully competent team of health professionals, trained and equipped to meet the needs of patients who arrive in a cardiac emergency," according to the report.
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