About a dozen vehicles with nurses from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital caravanned through Valencia Friday morning to protest increased nurse-to-patients staffing ratios due to the COVID-19 surge, which they say puts patients at risk.
The hospital is among several in California that was granted last month a temporary expedited waiver from the state Department of Public Health to bump up the number of patients nurses in intensive care units can oversee at one time.
Hospital officials said Friday they are hiring staff and are offering competitive salaries and benefits, as well as incentives to current clinical employees to work extra shifts. In response to the demonstration, officials said the issue is not unique to Henry Mayo.