FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 29, 2024

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OXANARD, Calif. — Workers from Dignity Health will picket at St. John’s Medical Center in Oxnard to protest plans by hospital management to outsource critical monitor technician jobs from Southern California to Arizona. The move could endanger worker and patient safety as the monitor technicians are responsible for watching and analyzing the activity of patients’ hearts to identify any irregularities or signs of potential issues.

“Aside from the devastating impact of losing our jobs on our families and livelihoods, we’re worried about how this will affect our patients. Imagine having your loved one in a hospital in Oxnard, knowing that their heart is being monitored hundreds of miles away, out-of-state,” said Ernesto Magana, a monitor technician at Dignity Health – St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard. “Dignity Health is trying to cut corners at the expense of workers and patient safety.”

Dignity Health is part of one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the country, CommonSpirit Health, which earned over $5.4 billion in profits in fiscal year 2021.

“We have already experienced a variety of delays with the new system, including waiting up to 40 minutes before receiving a call for a patient being off monitor,” said Christian Luna, a telemetry nurse at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. “A delay in response time means an increased risk in potential mortality. Using this system makes me afraid for my patients’ safety.”

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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers.