Updated: 3 Joliet nurses suspended by St. Joe’s over staffing dispute; dozens more rally

A rally took place Saturday outside Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet hospital to protest staffing levels that nurses said were dangerous.

Dozens of people gathered at 6:30 p.m. Saturday outside the hospital, including many nurses and their union representatives.

John Fitzgerald, a staff representative for the nurses at St. Joe’s, said there were nurses who were working the night shift in the emergency room Friday night and who demanded less than horrendous staffing.

Fitzgerald said there were managers who said they would come in to work but not stay in for the rest of the shift and potentially leave in the middle of the night.

“When the nurses said that wasn’t adequate, security was called on them and they were marched out of the hospital,” Fitzgerald said.

Julia Bartmes, executive director of the Illinois Nurses Association, said it was four nurses who were escorted off the property Friday night and three of them were not allowed to return to work Saturday. Pat Meade, treasurer for the St. Joseph Nurses Association, said those three nurses were suspended.

Fitzgerald said the poor staffing at St. Joe’s has resulted in sentinel events, which is a patient safety event that results in death, permanent harm or severe temporary harm, according to the Joint Commission, a nonprofit health care organization.

“My understanding is that there were at least two sentinel events in this hospital that derive from unsafe staffing in this past week,” Fitzgerald said.

He said there was one patient death and another patient who had a severe negative outcome.

In response to questions about the issues raised at Saturday’s rally, Ascension spokesman Timothy Nelson said in a statement that the Joliet hospital is “committed to working in partnership with our nurses, while also respecting the terms of our labor contract.”

“In doing so, we are conducting a thorough investigation of recent events,” Nelson said.

Hannah Puhr, an emergency room nurse at St. Joe’s, said there were nurses on the night shift that was scheduled to have four staff members when there should have been up to 12 to 14. She said at that time that there were 51 patients in the emergency room.

“If you do the math, it is incredible and dangerous. We were very concerned about it. This has been happening for months and years,” Puhr said.

Puhr said the nurses cannot “save a life alone.”

“We cannot save a life without resources and staff,” Puhr said.

Katherine Soprych, an Intensive Care Unit nurse, said there was one day where nurses came to work and were told each nurse would have four patients, when safe staffing in the ICU requires two patients for one nurse.

She said the nurses were able to negotiate the staffing to three patients for each nurse.

“It’s a start but it is not good enough. We need safe staffing. This community deserves safe staffing,” Soprych said.

Nurses have gone before the Joliet City Council recently, asking them to get involved with talks with management over what they say has been a continuous decline in beds and nurses. The nurses said wages at St. Joe’s are lagging behind other area hospitals, as well.

Joliet Mayor Robert O’Dekirk was present at Saturday’s rally, along with City Council members Joseph Clement and Cesar Guerrero.