Thousands of nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center will be on strike after contract negotiations failed.The main issue at hand is inadequate staffing. Hospital administrators say that's a misleading allegation since this hospital is ranked best staffed in the city and state.Keya Griffin is a nurse case manager. She says in the Intensive Care Unit the ratio of patients to nurses is 2:1 or 1:1, but sometimes ICU nurses triple up, which causes issues on the general floor. Chief Nursing Officer Debi Albert says there's a group that's co-led by union member nurses and leaders who review those complaints and solve them together.But there's another issue that union nurses say needs more work: security measures. Albert says that the issue was discussed at the negotiation table this past Wednesday and that both sides agreed on a path forward. Despite their "generous" proposal, the union didn't budge. The strike will last five days. During that time, Albert says emergency departments will remain open for patients and walk-ins.Ambulance traffic will get rerouted to other hospitals which Albert says they're in constant communication with to prevent overcrowding.
09/20/19 11:15AMDay one: UCMC nurses on strike