Inland Valley RNs Alert Murrieta City Council to ER Safety Hazard

May 2013

We continue to alert our community to the dangers presented by Inland Valley’s refusal to dedicate a full-time MICN to the radio room in the ER. The danger is not just to Inland Valley patients but region-wide, since Inland is a Base Station, directing ambulance traffic and assisting paramedics throughout Southwestern Riverside County.

Last night, we took our case to the Murrieta City Council. MICN Nina Ballard told the council about tending two trauma patients at once and also having to answer the base station radio phone.

Our previous steps to address this problem have included:

• Presenting a petition with over 65 signatures of paramedics, firefighters and RNs to the ED Director
• Presenting a letter to hospital CEO Gino Patrizio on April 19
• Holding a press conference on April 26, which was covered extensively by local media. See the press reports here.
• Meeting with California State Assembly member Melisa Melendez

Management did respond to our efforts by changing the policy. However, their proposed solution—assigning the Charge Nurse as MICN—won’t fix the problem.