Tarloh Quiwonkpa, an emergency room nurse at United Hospital in St. Paul, listened to one of the speakers at a vigil by strike supporters Wednesday evening at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in St. Paul.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune
Replacement nurses sympathize but question if strike is right way
By JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY and CHEN MAY YEE, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: June 9, 2010 - 10:34 PM
On Thursday morning, the two Florida nurses will report for work at the emergency room, just as they've been doing for years.
Except this time they'll be doing it far from home and for a lot more money.
They are among the 2,800 replacements recruited from around the country to substitute for 12,000 Minnesota nurses who are expected to walk off the job Thursday morning at 14 Twin City hospitals.
"This was my bright idea," said Kristie, a redhead from West Palm Beach. "It's a great opportunity to make a lot of money."
The two declined to give their surnames and admitted to mixed feelings about the assignment. What will bother her the most, Nancy said, is the moment when she walks into a Twin Cities hospital and takes the handoff from a Minnesota nurse.
"As soon as she comes off the night shift,'' Nancy said, "she's going to go out and hold a [picket] sign."
The 24-hour strike scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursday, over staffing, pay and benefits, is set to go down as the biggest in U.S. nursing history. Hospitals not involved in the dispute have geared up for an influx of patients, and many of the affected hospitals have postponed medical procedures, beefed up security and asked other employees to take extra shifts. They say emergency rooms and labor-and-delivery departments will be fully staffed.
But the hospitals have been forced to pay a price for that preparation-- flying in thousands of nurses to work for just one day.
On Wednesday night, the two friends from Florida, each with 10 years' nursing experience, were sitting in the bar of the Bloomington hotel that served as a processing center for the temporary nurses. It was a scene of organized chaos -- the main hallway lined with registration tables for each hospital and the ballroom packed with more tables and signs. Some nurses wandered about, pulling their luggage. Others sat against the walls with computers and cell phones plugged into outlets.
No comments:
Post a Comment