UCLA Health Workers Rally for Patient Safety at Regents Meeting

Healthcare Workers to Rally Over Patient Safety Concerns

Healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, residents, interns, and other staff at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, are set to hold a demonstration outside the UC Board of Regents meeting. This protest, organized by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, and aims to draw attention to ongoing patient safety issues.

Currently, the Westwood emergency department at UCLA is experiencing overcrowding, leading to patient care being conducted in tents and hallways. According to the healthcare workers, these makeshift areas compromise patient care quality and hinder private medical discussions.

Ellie Savova, an RN in UCLA's emergency department, emphasized the urgency of the situation: “Our Westwood emergency department boarding crisis coalition, which includes nurses and other health care workers, delivered a petition with nearly 1,000 signatures on March 26, demanding that the unsafe conditions in the emergency department be addressed and corrected immediately. Nurses and resident physicians are banding together and using our collective union power to advocate for the safety of our patients.”

Details of the Protest:

• Who: UCLA RNs and UPTE/CIR coalition partners
• What: Action for Patient Safety
• When: Wednesday, May 6, 7:30-9:30 a.m.
• Where: UC Regents Meeting at the UCLA Luskin Center (425 Westwood Plaza)

The protest is supported by various unions representing the healthcare staff. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) represents the nurses, while the Committee of Interns and Residents-Service Employee International Union (CIR-SEIU) represents the residents and interns. Health workers, including pharmacists and social workers, are represented by University Professional and Technical Employees-Communication Workers of America-9119 (UPTE-CWA).

Dr. Diana Dayal, a resident physician and CIR/SEIU member, criticized the current situation: “Caring for patients in tents and hallway beds is not medicine, it’s crisis management. These makeshift spaces strip patients of dignity, compromise privacy, and make it harder for us to deliver the safe, evidence-based care every patient deserves. We are speaking out because this is a patient safety issue, plain and simple. UCLA must invest in staffing, capacity, and systems that allow us to treat patients in real clinical settings.”

Dianne Sposito, an RN in the emergency department, echoed these concerns: “Emergency department boarding at UCLA has reached a level incompatible with safe and ethical patient care. Nurses are demanding working conditions that are safe and that will allow patients to receive the highest standard of care.”

The healthcare workers are calling for several measures, including an in-person meeting with UCLA Health executive management, establishing a hospital-wide throughput committee, expanding staffed inpatient capacity during predictable surge periods, increasing staffing, and ensuring safe spaces for patient care. They also demand greater transparency in the use of shadow and hallway beds.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation, representing over 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities across California and over 225,000 RNs nationwide. CNA represents more than 5,500 registered nurses at UCLA.

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