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| Pa. Prison Nurses Protest Staffing Levels |
| By NEPA News |
| Published: 06/10/2003 |
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Nurses who care for some of the state's toughest patients say that while the entire nursing profession is facing a crisis, it's even tougher on the inside. Prison nurses marched in front of more than a dozen correctional facilities across the state June 4 to protest staffing levels that they say are in danger of becoming dangerously low. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is reducing staff levels in several categories, nurses included, through attrition, spokeswoman Susan MacNaughton said. About $1.3 billion has been proposed for the next fiscal year for state prisons, a sum Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard called a 'very modest budget.' The Service Employees International Union, which represents about 386 prison nurses, maintains that reducing the number of registered nurses when the inmate population is at an all-time high puts both prisoners and prison staff in danger. Registered nurse Melissa Seighman, 53, had just finished her shift at SCI-Camp Hill southwest of Harrisburg before joining a handful of nurses outside carrying pickets. 'Our staffing levels are at an all-time low,' she said. 'Camp Hill is down three positions and another RN is retiring in two weeks. We are all doing mandatory overtime.' Seighman worked from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. recently and went back to work at 6 a.m. the next day, she said. 'When you're overtired, you're more subject to making mistakes,' she said. 'Mistakes in a prison setting could mean someone getting hurt.' Prison officials insist that there is no danger to inmates or prison staff. 'We are cautious and concerned about the staff and would not put them in jeopardy in any way,' MacNaughton said. 'Unfortunately, the budget situation is playing a role in this and everyone is being asked to find places to save.' |
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