MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Tues., Apr. 11, 2017 – Violent Attack on Nurse Leads Riverside County Employees to Host 3 Days of Self-Defense Classes

Violent Attack on Nurse Leads Riverside County Employees to Host 3 Days of Self-Defense Classes as Management Ignores Increasingly Dangerous Conditions

 

Safety Breaches Rampant Throughout County Facilities; Official Grievance by Correctional Facility Nurses Describes Many in ‘Fear of a Violent Attack That May Lead to Death at Work’

 

RIVERSIDE, CA—In response to increasingly dangerous working conditions that have been continually ignored by Riverside County management, Riverside County employees will host three days of self-defense classes at worksites across the County to equip workers with the skills needed to stay safe on the job. In a recent assault against a Nurse at the Riverside University Hospital, a patient repeatedly slammed the nurse’s head on the ground and attempted to bite her on the back of her neck until a co-worker came to her defense. Nurses at the flagship hospital, health clinics and incarceration facilities repeatedly endure a working environment where patients can be mentally unstable, suicidal or homicidal – making basic safety measures indispensable.

 

Through their SEIU Local 721 Union, Riverside County Employees respond to an increasing outcry for resources against unsafe working conditions. First self-defense training with Media Availability: Tuesday April 11, 8AM at Riverside University Hospital.

 

Riverside University Hospital

Tues., Apr. 11th

26520 Cactus Ave.

Moreno Valley, CA 92555

In front of Emergency Room

8AM-9AM

 

Riverside County Public Health

Wed., Apr. 12th

4065 County Circle Dr.

Riverside, CA 92503

County Circle Grassy Area

12PM-1PM

 

Dept. of Public Social Services

Thur., Apr. 13th

541 N. Jacinto St.

Hemet, CA 92544

Outside where 541 meets 547

12PM-1PM

 

The 3 self-defense classes come on the heels of a group grievance filed against Riverside County on March 23, 2017 on behalf of mental health caregivers at the RUHS Correctional Facilities, and the violent attack of an Emergency Room Registered Nurse by a patient at the Riverside University Health System Medical Center.

 

In the group grievance filed against the County, employees describe how they work “in serious fear of suffering a violent attack that may lead to death while on the job” since they “no longer feel they are able to work in a safe environment.” This is the second group grievance filed by SEIU Local 721 on behalf of public workers calling on Riverside County to implement proper safety measures for health and mental caregivers. The first grievance – filed on December 15, 2016 – pertained specifically to workers at the Hemet Clinic, and prompted Hemet Clinic workers to launch the first self-defense class in January.

 

Safety concerns by Riverside County employees have hit an all-time high leaving little choice but to take workplace safety matters into their own hands both for their own welfare, and the safety of the patients they serve in the face of management neglect.

 

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Contact: Coral Itzcalli, (213) 321-7332, coral.itzcalli@seiu721.org

 

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