St. John’s Health Center Engages in Harassment Campaign against RN who Reported Patient Care Conditions to Santa Monica City Council

Wednesday Press Conference Featuring Targeted Nurse

Registered nurses from St. John’s Health Center will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the filing of an unfair labor practice charge against the facility, in response to a harassment campaign by hospital managers.

Liz Baker-Wade, RN, and other facility nurses, were threatened with arrest Thursday evening for exercising their constitutional right to speak to other caregivers about patient care conditions and RN organizing in the hospital.

The threatened arrest came just days after nurse Baker-Wade addressed the Santa Monica City Council about deep patient care concerns common to RNs at the facility.  

The threats also came about after incidents at the facility that are currently being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board:  In one, the hospital engaged in unlawful interrogation of nurses, and in the other, nurses were censored from wearing ribbons expressing their support for quality patient care.  The NLRB is investigating both cases.

WHAT:  RN Files NLRB Charges against St. John’s for Harassment
WHERE:  St. John’s Medical Center, Santa Monica
WHEN:  Wednesday, May 20 - 11:00 a.m.

“As an 11-year St. John’s RN and a long time Santa Monica resident, I am very disappointed that my hospital would harass nurses by threatening to bring in our city police, “said Liz Baker-Wade.

“The irony is that, by threatening us for talking about an organizing agreement, the hospital administration has shown that an organizing agreement with fair ground rules is the only way that RNs’ rights will be respected.”