SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The following statement is attributed to Carmella Gutierrez, president of Californians for Patient Care:
“Californians for Patient Care (CPC) is disappointed to learn that National Nurses United (NNU), the California Nurses’ Association’s union, is opposing mandatory flu shots for healthcare workers. We believe mandated flu shots for all California healthcare workers will do a great deal to improve public health and bolster patients’ trust in their healthcare providers. We further believe NNU’s failure to support flu shots for healthcare providers is hypocritical and irresponsible.”
“The NNU talks about what mandated flu vaccines might mean to nurses, but nothing about patients. When did the wants of a nurses’ union start trumping the needs of patients and the need for better public health? Nurses and healthcare workers are not the first group of people that would be subject to a mandatory vaccination. In California, students (entering seventh grade and above) must receive a whooping cough vaccination, to protect the health of other students. What makes a nurses’ union oppose mandatory flu vaccinations to eliminate the spread of this deadly infection?
“CPC understands this nurses union is trying to expand its membership and negotiate better contracts for its members, but it needs to stop trading on the safety and health of the patients nurses are supposed to be helping. Proven vaccines that keep nurses from unintentionally infecting patients should be administered to all nurses. Because some nurses and other healthcare workers refuse to get flu vaccines on a voluntary basis, we believe it is time for mandated flu vaccines for healthcare workers in California. The union’s position is a roadblock to promoting public health.
“Isn’t Valentine’s Day a great time for nurses and other healthcare workers to show their patients a little bit of love by protecting the ones whom they care for from the deadly flu virus?”
Californians for Patient Care is a nonprofit organization based in Sacramento dedicated to protecting the interests of patients and ensuring all California consumers have fair and equitable access to high quality healthcare. For more information, visit www.calpatientcare.org.
CONTACT:
Californians for Patient Care
Anissa Routon, 916-552-3064
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Seniors Health Hospitals Infectious Diseases Public Policy/Government Healthcare Reform Public Policy State/Local Baby/Maternity Children Consumer Nursing General Health
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