NUHW: Raising Standards at Fountain Valley
Raising standards for patients
We need adequate staffing, responsive workloads, and safe conditions to ensure patients receive quality care.
- Workers are struggling to provide safe and timely care to patients because of insufficient staffing and unreasonable workloads that are continually increasing.
- Staff turnover affects our ability to build a team that works well together. In some departments, more than 50 percent of staff were hired within the last two years.
Raising standards for our families
We need wages that keep up with the cost of living, and affordable health coverage to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy.
- The cost of living in Orange County is almost four times higher than the national average. Recently the cost of living rose nearly 4% in just one year (2017–18).
- According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, families who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing are suffering financial hardship. At Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center, 86 percent of us reported spending more than 30 percent of our income on housing.
- Healthcare for Healthcare Workers: Even though we work for one of the largest healthcare corporations in the world, we do not have adequate healthcare coverage for ourselves and our families. A recent report by Modern Healthcare predicts a 6 percent rise in healthcare costs in 2020.
Raising standards for our professions
We need respect on the job and fair compensation that reflects our responsibilities and years of professional experience and comparable rates in the healthcare industry.
- 84 percent of Fountain Valley caregivers say their wages are too low for their level of skill and care they provide.
- For many classifications, a significant percentage of us who were hired before April 2017 are being paid below the wage scale.