Nurses Sound Alarm on Staffing Crisis at Milwaukee County's Behavioral Health, Demand Immediate Action from the County Executive
Milwaukee, Wis. – At 1pm today, on the front steps of the Courthouse, dozens of Milwaukee County Mental Health nurses and frontline staff stood up for their patients speaking out to protest unsafe staffing. The nurses demanded that County Executive Abele take immediate action to fill the dozens of RN and Nursing Assistant vacancies, and put an end to the dangerous and widespread practice of forcing nursing staff to work massive amounts of involuntary overtime. The nurses also presented the County Executive with a petition, signed by over a hundred workers, which included a list of 10 corrective actions; and, demanded he take immediate action to correct the unsafe staffing, including reducing the hospital census until such time adequate staff is hired and trained to care for patients with severe mental illness.