Nurses at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio held an informational picket Wednesday night to raise concerns about patient care and workplace conditions.
The rally was organized by SEIU 121RN, a member-led union representing more than 11,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals across Southern California.
The unionized nurses said their grievances include insufficient staffing, low wages, inadequate training for new hires and long-delayed facility upgrades. They also allege that orientation periods for newly hired nurses have not increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, a gap they warn could lead to serious mistakes in patient care.
Operating room nurse Tracy Pryor, who has worked at JFK for 28 years, said morale among nurses has been deteriorating for years. She also described the toll of on-call demands.
“Some of our nurses in our recovery room, they are 15 days or more on call… you get the phone call, you have to be at the hospital within 30 minutes. You’re tied down half of the month.”
SEIU 121RN President Leo Perez said both new and veteran nurses have voiced frustration.
“At JFK, new nurses tell us they lack sufficient training, and veteran nurses feel undervalued,” Perez said.
A spokesperson for Tenet Healthcare California, which owns JFK, said the picketing did not affect hospital operations.
“Our hospital was in full operation and open for all services,” Richard Ramhoff, group director of marketing at Desert Care Network hospitals, said in a statement provided to City News Service.
“We are currently involved in bargaining with the union and will continue to negotiate in good faith in hopes of reaching a successful contract. Our focus is to provide high quality health care to our community and a positive work environment for our employees.”
Community members and local elected officials also joined the nurses on the picket line in a show of support.
City News Service contributed to this report.
