Dear SEIU 121RN Member,

LEARN MORE

Click »»» here to download a flyer today with more details on what this means in YOUR hospital!

We must enforce the protections we’ve won, now more than ever. Get the flyer »»» here for our “STOP REPEAT OFFENDER HOSPITALS” bill.

I’m excited to share this news with you. Today, we learned that the CDPH issued an All Facilities Letter notifying hospitals of new rules regarding the emergency suspension of Nurse to patient ratio waivers. Starting now, hospitals may not receive waivers without the approval of CDPH, and hospitals must demonstrate that they have made every effort to maintain safe staffing levels. We’ll share more info soon, but here are the important details:

  • As of Feb 1st CDPH will no longer accept any new expedited staffing waivers.  (These are the waivers which do not require CDPH approval before implementing staffing changes.)  
  • All existing approved staffing waives will expire on Feb 8th, unless CDPH determines on an individual waiver basis that there is an unprecedented circumstance.
  • Hospital must maintain efforts to meet staffing levels levels at all times
  • If CDPH has any indication that hospitals have not maintained efforts to increase staffing, CDPH will investigate and require hospitals to provide documentation.  CDPH may do unannounced audits to assess these efforts. 

Make no mistake, this important rule-change is a result of our taking action. We got to work immediately when the waivers were announced, and we didn’t stop until we won (we never do!) Our members lobbied the Governor, sharing personal stories to demonstrate the critical importance of safe-staffing, especially during the pandemic.

As we do with any of the patient and Nurse safety laws and regulations we’ve won, we must now hold our hospitals accountable to make sure they don’t violate the new rules. Keep your eye out for info on how to do that. If you have questions, please reach out to the Union Rep/Organizer for your hospital. 

In Unity,
Frank Torres, Chief of Staff, SEIU 121RN

PS: If you’d like to learn more about lobbying elected officials and speaking out in the media about important issues like this, sign up for our virtual Lobby and Media Training on Thursday, February 18. Download the flyer, then RSVP here.