At the end of recent nursing union contract negotiations, Good Sam leadership promised that an open forum of sorts was to be created in order to help foster a solution to the ongoing scheduling debacle. Currently some nurses work grueling blocks of 72 hours in just 7 days that not only have been shown to increase health problems for nurses and patients, but make it incredibly hard to get vacation days and book stable child care.
Unfortunately, nothing has really happened yet. Although Samaritan boasts a new scheduling software system that will somehow help alleviate issues, sources say this is still about nine months off. Not good news for those nurses that continue to face these schedules on a daily basis. Especially now that hope can no longer be tied to a contract negotiation.
By Johnny Beaver
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