ST. LOUIS — Ascension Seton nurses are headed to St. Louis to continue their fight for safer conditions and more transparency.
On Thursday, nurses employed at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin and Ascension via Christi St. Joseph Hospital and Ascension via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, will rally at Ascension's headquarters in St. Louis.
The National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) said the goal of the rally is to "pressure executives to reverse unsafe staffing practices that prioritize profits over patient safety."
In recent weeks, nurses at all three of the above hospitals have voted overwhelming to authorize 1-day strikes after months of fighting for safer staffing and practices.
Earlier this month, Kristine Kittelson – an RN in the mother-baby unit at Ascension Seton – told KVUE that nurses are working with up to eight patients each shift, when they should be caring for no more than six each. Nurses have also raised concerns about cleanliness in the workplace and security measures, citing workplace violence from both patients and internally.
The nurses will rally at Ascension Headquarters on Thursday starting at 2 p.m.