Strike by County Nurses, Doctors

The nurses strike at USC-County General Hospital may have been legal and even warranted, but no one seemed concerned that because of it the oncology department was closed. Patients were sent home while waiting for chemotherapy, radiation, CAT scans and other tests. This action may shorten their lives. This seems ironic in a compassionate and life-saving community. The blame seems to fall on the nurses themselves who were well aware of their actions, the union that ignored the deadly consequences of its action and the hospital administrators for ordering the department closed. An approach could have been made to all of the above groups by the Board of Supervisors to maintain the cancer unit by mutual consent. The almighty dollar still reigns supreme even over life. All groups involved in this deadly game would profess compassion when in reality it is cruelty.

HAROLD STURZA

Newhall