Press Releases
Hospital refuses to let nurses return to work
LONG BEACH — Nurses who staged a one-day strike at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center were barred from the hospital Thursday and replaced for five days by contract workers.
Dozens of registered nurses were turned away by security.
They will be allowed back to work Monday morning, said Dr. Gainer Pillsbury, hospital medical director.
“We think it is horrible that the hospital made the decision to prevent ... nurses from caring for their patients,” said Charles Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association, which represents the nurses.
The hospital had about 500 patients, who were receiving “excellent care” from replacements, he said.
About 480 replacement nurses were hired from a nursing service to cover during Wednesday’s strike, but their contract requires they work for five days, Pillsbury said. He put the cost at up to $2 million.
About 1,000 of the hospital’s 1,300 nurses struck. They want a guaranteed pension plan protected from stock market fluctuations.
Pillsbury said the hospital wants more information on the details of the plan before committing to it.
