CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A group of healthcare workers from Doctors Regional Hospital held a protest outside the hospital Wednesday afternoon.
The protesters who gathered in front of the hospital at 3315 S. Alameda are members of the Service Employees International Union. The union is currently in negotiations with the Hospital Corporation of America who operates Doctors Regional Hospital.
Some of the union members' demands include hazard pay and safer worker conditions.
"I like doing my job and taking care of patients. I'm a healthcare worker, I've been with HCA 15 years doing respiratory therapy. I want to be safe and not take, not get sick and not get my family sick or my loved ones," one protester told KRIS 6 News.
The union members said HCA has rejected their terms.
KRIS 6 News reached out to Corpus Christi Medical Center about the employees' concerns and the hospital issued this statement:
Corpus Christi Medical Center has been providing high quality care for the communities we serve for decades and has not wavered in our commitment to following best practices and delivering excellent care throughout this pandemic, even recently receiving Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades quality and safety awards. Our leadership team has worked tirelessly to provide all colleagues with the necessary supplies and personal protective equipment needed to safely care for patients since the beginning of the pandemic.
While hospitals and caregivers across the country continue to face the challenges of the pandemic, ongoing staff shortages and the current surges, unions are exploiting the situation with staged protests in an attempt to gain publicity during contract negotiations. It is disappointing that unions would disparage the reputation of our hospital, ignoring the extensive work, planning and training our teams have done to ensure the delivery of quality care during this global crisis.