Nurses Rally at UCI Health Irvine to Protest Staffing Shortages

Rally Scheduled to Address Staffing Issues at UCI Health Irvine

On Wednesday, October 28, registered nurses at UCI Health Irvine in California will gather for a rally and picket to protest what they describe as unsafe working conditions. This event, organized by the California Nurses Association, part of National Nurses United, aims to spotlight the ongoing staffing problems and the recent removal of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) from ICU night shifts.

Shane Aderhold, a registered nurse in the ICU, expressed concerns, stating, “We have a staffing crisis. We have been short-staffed in the intensive care unit since UCI Health Irvine opened in December 2025. Now with the removal of certified nursing assistants from night shifts in the ICU, we are doing the work of CNAs on top of our own work. We are constantly being stretched too thin. This isn’t safe for our patients and it puts our licenses at risk.”

Event Details:

Who: Registered Nurses at UCI Health Irvine

What: Rally and picket for safe staffing and patient safety

When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Where: UCI Health Irvine, main entrance, 19210 Jamboree Rd., Irvine, CA

The absence of CNAs at night has raised patient safety concerns, as these assistants provide necessary support like toileting, bathing, and feeding patients. This allows ICU nurses to concentrate on caring for critically ill patients. Without such support, nurses are diverted from their primary duties, leading to an increased workload and potential risks to patient safety.

Brye Varner, another ICU nurse, noted, “UCI Health said this new facility would provide advanced care to the community. But they failed to adequately plan for the staffing needs for this new hospital. All the attention has been on the cutting-edge design and services but the reality is that we do not have enough staff to safely operate this hospital. Nurses are being floated from the ICU to other units that are extremely short staffed. This is unsustainable.”

Nurses are urging UCI Health to resolve the staffing crisis and ensure that adequate support is in place for continuous safe patient care. Despite claims of a nursing shortage, the National Nurses United points to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicating that, as of May 2025, approximately 1.15 million registered nurses with active licenses were not employed as RNs. In California alone, over 187,000 licensed nurses are not working in their field.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United represents 4,600 nurses at UCI Health and over 26,000 across the UC Health system.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation, with more than 100,000 members in over 200 facilities throughout California and over 225,000 RNs nationwide.