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Norma Torres Shadows Local 121RN Nurse at Pomona Valley Hospital
Friday, March 19, 2010 – When Assemblymember Norma Torres, D-Ontario, arrived at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center last Friday, she looked a little scared. That’s when she admitted that she was nervous about following an SEIU Local 121RN registered nurse as part of the national SEIU “Walk a Day in My Shoes” program.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Torres said after learning she would be in the Labor & Delivery department rather than the Intensive Care Unit as originally planned. “By walking a day in the shoes of a nurse, I saw the tremendous amount of physical and mental stress nurses face. Workloads can change drastically without notice and the joy of helping deliver a newborn can quickly shift to the anguish of helping someone deal with the end of life.”

Torres was joined by multiple members of the Pomona Valley Hospital management team as well as Local 121RN Vice President Jeannie King, a Pomona Valley Hospital registered nurse, and several Local 121RN staff. She was given a tour of the Women’s Center   a department at Pomona Valley Hospital that has delivered as many as 8,000 babies in one year – and met with several new mothers on the unit.

Local 121RN Registered Nurse Jeannette Clermont led Torres on the tour. Clermont has been a nurse at Pomona Valley Hospital for four years and grew up in the area.

Evelia Serrano introduced Torres to her first baby, Marc Javier Flores, born on March 18 and weighing 7 pounds. Serrano was preparing to have a “celebration” dinner provided by the hospital before returning home to Chino.

Torres accompanied Tammy Block to the nursery on the second floor to see her daughter and second child, Adelynn Helen Ziegler. Adelynn was in the nursery because of jaundice, a condition where the liver is too immature to break down waste products. She was wrapped in what’s called a “Billy Blanket” that provides phototherapy to babies with jaundice.
In order to be eligible for an SEIU political endorsement, all candidates, even incumbents who were previously endorsed by SEIU, must participate in either a “Walk a Day” or town hall. Then SEIU members will vote on their endorsement based on the candidate’s participation and/or answers to questions.

“We have issues that affect nurses that legislation can either hinder or help,” said 121RN Vice President King. “Some of these include changes in nurse-to-patient ratios, requiring relief nurses for breaks and lunch periods, and possible changes to the Board of Registered Nursing’s diversion program.

“Nurses know intimately how these changes could affect patient care in our hospitals. And, with all the pending changes to our healthcare system on the horizon, it’s even more important for our legislators to understand how nurses work on a day-to-day basis,” King says.

Assemblymember Torres agreed: “I decided to participate in SEIU’s ‘Walk a Day in My Shoes’ because the people of this state need decision makers who can make decisions based on reality and not just politics.”