Day Nurses Owed More

Two years ago the Ventura County Hospital administration needed to keep on-call nurses (per diems) on its staff in order to meet desperate staffing needs and save money. They therefore increased the salary of per diem nurses, who are RNs with daily assignments in areas of critical need and who are paid a flat salary with no perks or benefits. This allows the hospital to adjust to chronic shortages without hiring more regular, full-time nurses, who are always in short supply due to inadequate wages and hard work (I know: I was one for over 20 years).

The county supervisors have just cut the per diem nurse’s salary 8% or $3.65 per hour, claiming it will save $260,000 per year. They say we are getting too much money, that “the market” now does not justify our supplemental increase of two years ago, which was meant to retain us when the going was rough for the hospital.

Their action harks back to the worst labor practices of the 19th Century, when factory owners raised and lowered wages based on short-term market changes. And, the hospital administration is reported as saying that the wage reduction is meant to improve morale. We deserve better. The needs of our medical system are still desperate and getting worse. The shortage of nurses, particularly those willing to handle the tough cases at the county hospital, is still a factor in our community. Per diems improve the health of our county and need to be compensated with adequate salary.

PAULINE CHIANESE, RN

Ventura County Medical Center

Ventura

The letter was also signed by registered nurses Betty E. Stephens, Marlena Brooker, Karen Bayless, Phyllis S. Conklin and Pamela Rooney.