Thousands of nurses from around the country marched to the White House and past the U.S. Capitol Thursday demanding reforms to the health care industry they claim has been putting their lives in danger and prioritizing profits over the care of patients. Show They called for three major changes: fair wages, safe-staffing ratios, and protection against workplace violence -- issues nurses say have only been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nation marked 1 million deaths from Covid, the nurses gathering in front of the White House warned of what they said was the dangerous nurse-to-patient staffing ratio putting both patients and nurses in danger.  People protest outside the White House in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2022. The healthcare workers' organizations said they are planning this event to fight for fair and realistic wages for nurses, safe staffing environments, no violence against healthcare workers, and changing the culture of the biases and discrimination in the nursing profession. Susan Walsh/AP While the ratio of nurses to patients depends on the type of care, a nurse most commonly cares for three patients at one time. Some nurses at Thursday's protest reported caring for eight to 10 patients simultaneously. Cindy Reuss said she left her job after 17 year due to unsafe staffing ratios. Her job job was her heart, she said, in an interview with ABC affiliate WJLA. "None of us want to leave bedside nursing," Reuss said. "But we cannot do it. With eight to ten patients, it's not safe. We just want the opportunity to be good nurses." Other nurses at the protest highlighted what they said was the lack of protection nurses have against workplace violence. Thomas Fernandes, who's been a critical care travel nurse for five years, claimed a patient shattered a meth pipe on his head with no repercussions. "Put your hands on a cop, you go to jail. Put your hands on a nurse and you can come back next week," Fernandes said, pointing to what he said was a lack of penalties for patients who harm those dedicated to caring for them. People protest outside the White House in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2022. The healthcare workers' organizations said they are planning this event to fight for fair and realistic wages for nurses, safe staffing environments, no violence against healthcare workers, and changing the culture of the biases and discrimination in the nursing profession. Susan Walsh/AP Adriane Carrier said she has been injured three times and spent two and half years out of work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing and residential care facilities have the second-highest workplace injury incident rates in the country. "We need to have a safe workplaces and consequences for injuring and harming health care workers and nurses," she said. During their march past the U.S. Capitol, the nurses also demanded fair, reasonable and competitive wages, noting what they said is the increase in hospital profits while they've seen little to no increase in pay. "This is a time where the health care industry and hospitals have made record profits while [nurses] are leaving the bedside," Carrier said. "50,000 more nurses will be leaving the bedside. There will be no more nurses to take care of Americans and our country and that is going to be the biggest tragedy of all." The peaceful protest, sponsored by Nurses Against Violence, also will focus on safe staffing ratios.Nurses Against Violence will take its message that violence in the workplace is not acceptable or "part of the job," on May 12 with the United Nurses March in Washington, D.C. Nurses and other frontline healthcare workers are much more likely to be victims of aggravated assault at work than workers in any other industry, says Kaiser Health News. U.S. healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal injuries from workplace violence in 2018, federal data shows. Violent incidents can range from disrespectful verbal confrontations where an individual—usually a patient—directs profanities, threats, or slurs toward healthcare workers to physical altercations where they hit, kick, punch, or spit on them. Violence means more than physical attacks on nurses and other healthcare workers, according to Nurses Against Violence, which is sponsoring the march; it also includes racism, incivility, and discrimination. In addition to raising awareness of nurse and frontline healthcare worker violence—including that of first responders—the peaceful protest also will focus on safe staffing ratios. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages and ratios have been at issue for hospitals and health systems. The situation has reached catastrophic levels, with the American Nurses Association (ANA) asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare the current nurse staffing shortage a national crisis and take concrete action. Congressional Democrats introduced a bill last May that sets minimum nurse-to-patient staffing requirements and provides whistleblower protections for nurses who report violations to those rules. The Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act gives hospitals two years—and rural hospitals four years—to develop and implement nurse staffing plans that meet minimum RN-to-patient ratios; adjust staffing levels based on acuity, nursing care plans, and other factors; and ensure quality care and patient safety. California is the only state now requiring minimum RN-to-patient ratios. Its ground-breaking safe-staffing standards took effect in 2004. Studies, including a 2010 research project on the California RN staffing ratio law, support an association between nurse staffing and better patient outcomes. "These are serious issues," according to Nurses Against Violence. "This march is for the healthcare worker that feels alone, silenced, and left behind. Incivility in nursing, including racism … has to be addressed, along with discrimination, poor morale, mental illness, addiction, and the rising suicide rates among nurses alone." Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand. Why did nurses march in DC?National Nurses March, the organizers of the march, is an organization that “value peaceful lifting of our nurse voices united on a national level in an effort to be heard that will promote change nationally for nurses for fair realistic wages; including no caps, safe staffing, no violence against healthcare workers, ...
Why are nurses going to DC?Nurses' March on Washington Planned to Address Workplace Violence and Other 'Serious Issues' | HealthLeaders Media.
Why are nurses marching in 2022?The United "Million" Nurses March took place Thursday, May 12, 2022, to help spread awareness to the hardships faced by nurses throughout the healthcare system. The event will assemble at 8:00 AM EST with the march beginning at 9:00 AM EST.
What is the nurses march about?Veronica Mitchell, the founder of the National Nurses March, said, “The mission of the National Nurses March is to enable nurses to provide quality care without worrying about being overworked, underpaid, or hurt by violence on the job.” These objectives hit home for the nurses in attendance at the March.
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Why are nurses protesting in Washington DC?
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