Nurses Petition Board on Bonus Pay

Nurses and psychiatric technicians who work on county mental health crisis teams asked the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to consider paying them the same bonuses received by colleagues working in the public hospital’s psychiatric wing.

The work they perform is just as hazardous as the duties performed by hospital-based employees, the workers told supervisors. Registered nurses and psychiatric technicians, who are licensed to dispense medication, respond to emergency situations involving the mentally ill.

When patients arrive they are often combative and there is little protection available, said Lynne Brady, a registered nurse.

“I have been spat on and called names I will not repeat here,” Brady said.

Nurses who work in a psychiatric wing at the Ventura County Medical Center receive a $1.88-an-hour bonus because their work is considered hazardous. About 20 nurses and a dozen psychiatric technicians in outpatient clinics say they deserve the same differential.

“It is an equity issue for them,” said Yolie Rios, who represents the nurses and technicians. “They feel slighted that only the inpatient nurses receive it.”

Supervisor John K. Flynn said he was sympathetic to the nurses’ concerns.

“What they had to say made a lot of sense,” he said. “I support them.”

The California Nurses Assn., which represents 250 county nurses, is in the midst of negotiations for a new contract. The union is asking for a 10% across-the-board raise for nurses, whose average pay is $20 an hour.