Over the last week, Mary Bridge held not one, but two Hospital Staffing Committee meetings to address the flood of NICU ADOs being submitted by nurses.

At both meetings, NICU management repeated the same claim: that they are doing everything in their power to solve the staffing crisis.

That excuse is wearing thin.

Management continues to refuse to increase Incentive Pay Program (IPP) rates, despite clear evidence that $20 per hour is not bringing enough nurses in on their days off. At best, it has encouraged some nurses to stay a few extra hours. What it has not done is solve the staffing crisis.

Not to mention that NICU management claims to be following the staffing plan 98% of the time when reporting compliance to the state. We know that is physically impossible.

The numbers speak for themselves. Staffing levels have not meaningfully improved, and management continues to miss the minimum safe staffing levels established in our staffing plan and are out of compliance virtually every single shift every single day.

Despite this reality, NICU management wanted to classify these ADOs as "resolved" or "in progress."

We said no.

Standing together with our UFCW3000 colleagues on the Hospital Staffing Committee, and with support from members of management from other units, we successfully pushed back. In both meetings, the NICU ADOs were officially designated as unresolved.

We also had nurses from the NICU come, on paid time, and speak to their ADOs. We cannot over emphasize how powerful this is, and we encourage everyone who has filed an ADO to come to HSC and speak on the issues you faced. Thank you to those who came and spoke.

That matters.

Because these unresolved ADOs can now be escalated to the Washington State Department of Health for investigation. At other WSNA represented facilities where we were able to successfully show ADOs as being unresolved the DoH forced the employer to create a corrective action plan to meet the required staffing levels.

This victory belongs to every nurse who took the time to document unsafe conditions and file an ADO.

But our work is not done.

Patient census continues to rise. We have no reason to believe incoming travelers will arrive soon enough to fully address the staffing shortage. Until management takes meaningful action, we must continue to hold them accountable.

File an ADO every time:

• Staffing falls below agreed-upon safe staffing levels.
• Charge or DELs nurses are forced to take patient assignments.
• Patient acuity exceeds the staffing standards outlined in our staffing plan.
• Unsafe conditions place patients, nurses, or families at risk.

Every ADO tells the story of what is happening at the bedside. Every ADO creates a record. Every ADO strengthens our ability to demand change.

When nurses stand together, management cannot simply explain away the staffing crisis.

A huge thank you to our UFCW3000 partners and the leaders from other units who stood in solidarity with NICU nurses this past week. Your support made a difference.

Who has the power? We have the power.

If you have questions about filing an ADO or documenting staffing concerns, contact Jared at JRichardson@WSNA.org.

In solidarity,
Your WSNA Officers - Crystal Anderson, Randi Neff, Rosie Robertson, Michele Christenson