PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — On Thursday afternoon, nurses at Temple University Hospital held a public action. The nurses’ union said there’s a “patient care crisis” in hospitals.
“We stand here before you today, united as nurses, techs, and professionals,” Carlos Sandiez said to the crowd.
The union is demanding that hospitals hire more nurses and work harder to keep them. They want the hospitals to address the nurse shortage during a pandemic that continues to rage on.
“Now that we have the resources that we need, we don’t have the staff that we need,” Sandiez said.
The event was one of several actions being held Thursday. It was organized by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.
Nurses at the event told Eyewitness News they have been sounding the alarm for years, but the pandemic emphasized the deficit they are in.
“We were already in a 100-person deficit when COVID-19 hit,” one woman at the rally said.
Temple University has not responded to a request for comment on Thursday’s rally.