We’re putting Ascension on notice that they’re failing our nurses and health professionals – and patients.
On 12/2/20, our union sent a letter to high level corporate executives at Ascension Wisconsin and to the local administration of St. Francis Hospital outlining the ways in which the disrespect of frontline staff and their union have directly contributed to the incredibly difficult working conditions in the hospital. WFNHP respectfully demanded the immediate implementation of a paid leave program for all frontline workers to deal with COVID-19 related illness; hazard pay for all healthcare workers in their employ; and a genuinely collaborative approach to stabilizing the staffing crisis in the hospital. We laid out the timeline of events since the beginning of the pandemic that clearly demonstrate our repeated attempts to protect and respect our nurses and health professionals and the ways in which we attempted to bring about concerning issues related to staffing and quality care between March and November of this year. The results of Ascension’s disregard for their employees’ needs and opinions are deeply felt across the hospital and can be represented with the following stats:
- Since March, there has been a staggering 38.6% turnover rate in the ICU.
- Fewer than 30 new hires have been brought into the hospital despite 93 health professionals leaving since March.