Letter: Asheville’s new union nurses are heroes!

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I met dedicated, hard workers at Mission Hospital in the three years I was a nurse there. Though I loved providing patient care, by the time I left, I swore I’d never work in a hospital again. The main reason for this was short staffing. Nurses endure intense schooling and training because they want a job helping people. It is heartbreaking when too often, they’re made to feel they are failing to do that because of short staffing and unreasonable workloads.

When nurses are worked so hard that they’re pushed to the breaking point, patients suffer from it, too. There’s a limit to the number of patients a nurse can safely assume responsibility for and a limit to the hours a nurse can go without time for bathroom, water or eating breaks. When profit motives push that limit to the max and beyond, quality of care pays the price, and nurses get the blame. These are the conditions I witnessed too often at my job, and that was before Mission was bought out by a huge, for-profit corporation. It was also before the pandemic, which exacerbates short-staffing issues.

Nurses care about their patients and risk their lives caring for COVID patients in hospitals with inadequate PPE. To go above and beyond all of the already extremely exhausting and emotionally stressful work in these conditions in order to make the difficult effort to unionize — now, that is dedication.

Make no mistake, unions can be a vital tool in providing safe working conditions and safe, quality care for patients. But unions require participation by good people, as do democracies. It’s not easy, and it is time-consuming. These nurses deserve support and thanks from the community. Please encourage them in the coming weeks and months as they navigate their way to positive hospital reforms benefiting everyone.

— Lillie Wallace
Former Asheville resident of 20-plus years
Athens, Ga., area

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Letter: Asheville’s new union nurses are heroes!

  1. Smith

    These unions have pretty much accomplished nothing at the HCA hospitals they are already established. Please don’t think they will here. Meanwhile all the other Mission employees will be getting bonus’s and merit increases . Thanks Union!

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.