PROVIDENCE – Unionized caregivers at Women & Infants Hospital will gather for an informational picket on Tuesday to ask the hospital management to address “dangerous short staffing.”
Front-line caregivers who are members of Service Employees International Union 1199 New England are asking management to invest part of the $45 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds Rhode Island hospitals received to find solutions for the staffing shortage, including competitive wage increases, safer staffing levels, free or reduced training, and career development.
The informational picket will take place from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday at Women & Infants Hospital. The hospital, which staffs 1,700 front-line caregivers, has suffered from staffing shortages in recent years and the situation worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the union.
“Without meaningful staffing increases, the hospital will not be able to turn the corner on recruitment and retainment and provide high-quality care to vulnerable patients,” the union said in a news release announcing the informational picket.
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
