Keep Filing ADOs

Please continue filing an ADO whenever the staffing plan is not met, you missed a meal or rest break, break buddies are used, or available help is denied. Please also file when unsafe situations occur and when a Charge RN takes patients! Include as much detail as possible! The amount of ADOs that go unresolved makes a difference!

Please file ADOs when your unit utilizes the Break Buddy system. Even if it means every shift. If you didn’t document, it didn’t happen.

The Break Buddy system is against the SB 5236 the Nurse Staffing law.

RCW 70.21.420(7)(b): Out of compliance means the number of patients assigned to the nursing staff exceeds the patient care unit as directed by the nurse staffing plan. 

Example: 5SE CCU’s staffing plan states with 17 patients, the unit must be staffed with 13 RNs. When RNs go into the meal and rest break period via the break buddy system, 5SE is NONCOMPLIANT because there are less RNs on the floor as per the minimum staffing plan. The number of RNs drop during the shift which is against the staffing plan. The unit MUST always be staffed with 13 RNs on the floor THROUGHOUT the SHIFT.

File an ADO at www.wsna.org/ado

UW Montlake’s Staffing Plan (All Units): https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/hospital-policies/UWMedicalCenterNS.pdf

Hospital Staffing Committee RCW 70.21.420: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=70.41.420

Meal and Rest Breaks

• You are required by Washington state law and UW Medicine Policy to take a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes when you work 12-hours. 
• Continue to clock out ANY MISSED break during your shift and file an ADO.
• Meal and rest break waivers are WHOLLY voluntary, and you can REVOKE all OR part of them at any time.
• If you revoke your waiver for the timing of your meal and rest breaks and you cannot get those breaks during legally allotted time, you may still clock out missed meal and rest breaks. By law RCW 49.12, an employee who works more than 5 hours must get a meal period break.
• Majority of UW Northwest RNs have revoked their Meal and Rest break waivers because they know how unsafe it is to leave their coworkers with 4-10 patients during their break and how unsafe it is to take a break when their units are very short staffed.
• With this, they were able to pilot their Break Relief Nurse Program from 1100-1500 and 2300-0300.

Washington State Law (RCW 49.12.480) https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.12.480

UW Meal and Rest Period Policy https://hr.uw.edu/policies/meal-periods-and-rest-periods/

L&I Wage & Hour Complaint: https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/

Staffing Compliance

We are copying UW Northwest’s plan in gaining more information whenever a unit goes under the approved staffing grid, even for a short while. UW must maintain compliance throughout each shift and report any time units are below the staffing plan. Well, they haven’t because they only take a one snapshot of units staffing plans at 0800/2000.

When a hospital is out of compliance for more than 6 days a month, we will report it to DOH. The hospital will then be mandated to make correction and if not corrected, they will be FINED. 

For now, whenever you submit an ADO, we will ask if we can use your ADO’s data to submit a DOH Complaint. Your manager will not be informed, and these submissions are under your officer’s emails. Please note we will contact you by email. 

If you want to send your own complaint to DOH for staffing violations, patient safety concerns, or harm events:

https://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/FileComplaintAboutProviderorFacility/FacilityComplaintProcess#heading25859

We need the following information:

• Date
• Shift (Day or Night)
• Unit
• Planned Number of Patients per Staffing grid
• Actual number of patients on unit
• Planned Number of RNs per staffing gird
• Actual number of patients per shift
• Planned Number of PCTs per staffing grid
• Actual number of PCTS per shift
• Planned Number of Charge RN per shift
• Actual number of Charge RN per shift
• Description of events (Extracted from your ADO)

We your WSNA Officers have spoken and met with directors on behalf of our staffing survey we took back in May. We brought up the issues of being short staffed and not having proper break relief. UW Leadership DOES NOT believe we need an increase in baseline staffing and proper break relief. For us to get what we rightfully deserve as by law and what we experience every shift, we must all DO THE WORK and make UW Montlake ACCOUNTABLE for their LACK of support. 

In Solidarity,
Your WSNA UWMC Montlake Officers

Email: wsnauwmontlake@gmail.com

IG: wsna_uwmontlake