(French Camp) — San Joaquin County today announced a staffing plan that will ensure patient health and safety during the anticipated nurses strike. The California Nurses Association (CNA) provided notice to the County that registered nurses at San Joaquin General Hospital (SJGH), Public Health, Behavioral Health, and other County health facilities will strike from the morning of Thursday, March 5th, to the morning of Saturday, March 7th.

In response to the strike, the County has contracted for a temporary 150-person nursing team from Healthsource Global. These California-licensed nurses are experienced, qualified, and highly skilled, and will ensure the Hospital can continue to provide vital health care services to the community without interruption. The Healthsource Global team will staff SJGH from March 5th through March 9th.

“Our top priority is the health and safety of the community, and we have a staffing plan in place that will meet the community’s health care needs,” said David Culberson, CEO of San Joaquin General Hospital. “We are taking proactive measures to minimize the risk to our patients and the public posed by this strike.”

All essential SJGH departments — including the Emergency Room, Operating Room, Intensive Care Unit, Labor and Delivery, Oncology, Dialysis, and Trauma — will be staffed and remain open.

In addition to the staffing plan, SJGH is working to refer some patients to other nearby hospitals and to reschedule elective, non-emergency surgeries that had been scheduled to take place during the strike window. “While these measures are being taken to protect the well-being of patients, we regret the inconvenience they will cause to some people,” Mr. Culberson added.

Additional Background

SJGH is a public hospital. Roughly 65% of its patients are on Medicare or Medi-Cal.

The cost of the temporary nursing workforce for five days to San Joaquin County is approximately $4 million.

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