Chronic Understaffing at Oroville Hospital Leads to Nurse Picket

• On February 15th, nurses held an informational picket outside of Oroville Hospital to protest continued understaffing issues and the dangers they pose to patient safety.
• Over the past two months, Oroville Hospital has gone into the final stage of its largest expansion while also closing two nursing-centered departments.
• Nurses at Oroville Hospital are looking for investment in growing the nursing workforce as the facility continues to expand its patient population.

On February 15th, California Nurses held an informational picket to shine a light on the chronic short-staffing problem at Oroville Hospital. These nurses are represented by the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United.

The nurses claim that these conditions “jeopardize patient care and lead to high turnover and the loss of experienced nurses.” In February alone, at least two other hospitals (Albany Med and Kapiolani Medical Center) have dealt with nurses striking in protest of unsafe staffing.

This article will describe the staffing issues at Oroville Hospital, the recent changes to the hospital, and what solutions they may be able to implement.

Staffing Dangers at Oroville Hospital

In the past year, Oroville Hospital has cut its Discharge Unit and Outpatient Services Department. In the email regarding these closures, the hospital described moving away from contract employees such as RNs and rehabilitation therapists, making the staffing issue even worse for the remaining staff nurses.

See Vang, one of Oroville’s RN case managers, says there has already been a ripple effect caused by delays when discharging patients. Delays in patient discharge lead to longer wait times and a lack of available resources for patients still needing care.

Nurse Vang also mentioned that their patient load had doubled since the end of January, when these changes took place.

In a response from the hospital, the president and CEO Robert J. Wentz stated, “We understand the significance of fair wages and continue to work diligently to come to a mutual agreement with the California Nurses Association.” This statement also remarks that RNs at Oroville Hospital are some of the highest-paid staff members, earning over $100,000 a year.

This is a fantastic salary, showcasing a strong financial commitment to nurses. However, nurses are looking for the administration not only to care for them financially but also to care for their safety and well-being.

Nurses at Oroville Hospital are stressed and spread too thin, often having to leave work undone for the next day. This compounds delays in patient care, leading to more stress for nurses, eventually burning them out and driving them away from direct patient care.

Oroville Hospital Continues to Grow as Wait Times Increase

Oroville Hospital is currently undergoing its largest expansion by constructing a new 160,000 sq ft. facility. Building on the new facility was completed in October 2023, but at the end of the year, inspections were still not completed, nor were tests for the utility systems.

The hospital hopes to open this new facility in June or July of this year.

When this expansion officially opens, it will increase the capacity of Oroville Hospital by over 60 beds and will cost the hospital over $178 million.

Increasing Oroville’s capacity for ambulatory care services, intensive care, labor and delivery, and surgical units is important to serving the diverse needs of its patients. However, nurses are worried that they cannot keep up with the hospital’s current growth.

Physician Education at Oroville Hospital

In June 2023, Oroville Hospital received accreditation from the American Council of Graduate Medical Education. This allows physicians to complete their psychiatric residencies at Oroville, with more specialties planned in the future.

This program is set to begin in July of this year.

Expanding education at Oroville will bring more healthcare workers to the hospital, creating more healthcare access for rural communities in the surrounding area. This type of program has also been implemented for nursing education at hospitals such as CHI Saint Joseph Health, North Central Michigan College, and Mercy Hospital Washington.

If Oroville Hospital needs new nursing talent to help fill its vacancies, partnering with local universities and nursing programs is a possible solution.

The Bottom Line

Oroville Hospital needs to invest in its nursing workforce as it continues to grow, adding new programs and facilities. Nurses require support from healthcare teams, such as nursing assistants, LPNS, and nurse leaders, such as case managers. By growing its staff, Oroville Hospital could bring safe care to its expanding patient population.

Nurses picketing outside the hospital is a sign that the staff at Oroville Hospital care about their patients and are ready for the hospital’s administration to step up and commit to safe staffing standards as the hospital continues to grow. 

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