MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
For more information, contact:
Jamie Lucas, (720)621-3689, jlucas@wfnhp.org
Milwaukee, WI--Rally to Save Labor and Delivery Services at St. Francis
Nurses and healthcare workers, patients and people from across the city will come together to preserve the only labor and delivery services on Milwaukee’s southside. Ascension announced privately on Friday, December 16, that they intend to close this vital service with the last admission set for December 23.
Ascension chose not to gather input from patients, staff, or the community we serve before making the decision to eliminate this crucial service and dozens of jobs. We must save our hospital.
Who: St. Francis Hospital union nurses, health professionals, community members, patients, and other care providers
What: Rally and Press Conference
When: Tuesday, 12/20 at 6 pm
Where: City Hall, 200 E. Wells
Why: Ascension is closing the labor and delivery service at St. Francis Hospital– taking away the only labor and delivery department on Milwaukee’s southside, and eliminating dozens of good, union jobs days before Christmas.
Visuals: Signs, potential march, significant gathering of healthcare workers and community members.
To note: Pre-event interviews with hospital staff, union leadership, are available.
On Thursday of last week, the New York Times ran a scathing investigation of Ascension’s business practices, detailing how years of cuts to staffing levels led to higher profits but left the company under-prepared for the pandemic. Our membership at St. Francis Hospital was essentially cut in half between 2016 when Ascension took over and the start of the pandemic. Milwaukee is not an outlier.
The very next day after that article was published, Ascension quietly announced to our members that the L&D unit would be closing next week. This closure is cruel and harmful and will deepen health inequities in our community.
Everyone deserves access to healthcare, no matter where you live. Save St. Francis!
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Wisconsin FNHP represents nurses & health professionals throughout the state of Wisconsin and is the local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers healthcare division, which represents more than 130,000 nurses and health professionals in a variety of disciplines and settings.