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Nurses from Seton Medical Center tell Daly City council staffing shortages are jeopardizing patient care
Summary
Several Seton Medical Center nurses testified at the Nov. 24 Daly City meeting, describing understaffing, alleged mismanagement by owner AHMC and requests to alter documentation; councilmembers thanked speakers but said no action could be taken during public comment.
Dozens of nurses from Seton Medical Center appealed to the Daly City Council on Nov. 24, urging elected officials to press hospital owners for better staffing, pay and safety practices.
Jennifer Flowers, a registered nurse with more than 25 years of emergency experience, said the hospital is “so mismanaged” that the emergency department at times has only three to four nurses and patients can arrive and be met “with a locked door because the staffing…there is no nurse out there.” She told the council staff and officials that CDPH staffing-ratio rules are not being met and said nurses have been pressured to change documentation to meet those rules.
Alden Poe, another Seton nurse, said the hospital’s owner, AHMC, is not competitive in wages and benefits—“like, 20% behind”—which drives experienced staff away and leaves new grads training other new grads. That pattern, Poe said, reduces “adequate quality, well rounded care to these patients.” Former Seton nurse Adam Shorff described episodes when the emergency department was understaffed while leadership refused overtime approvals, leaving one nurse managing multiple critical patients.
Longtime Seton nurse Karen Davey said recruitment and retention problems stem “really” from wages, benefits and hiring practices; she asked the council to remember hospital staff when Seton requests zoning or other approvals. Newer nurses, including Rhianna Felix and Shalita Capistrano, described burnout, canceled shifts and being expected to perform ancillary roles because support staff (transporters, CNAs, phlebotomists) are missing.
Council members acknowledged the speakers and thanked them for sharing experiences. Mayor and other members reiterated that the public-comment period is an opportunity to raise issues but not for the council to take immediate action on operational matters at a private hospital. Councilmember Manalo and others said they appreciated the nurses’ testimony and noted staff had helped clarify how to make public comments and how the council could be kept informed.
The nurses’ testimony focused on labor, patient safety and hospital-management practices. The council did not take formal action on hospital operations at the meeting; speakers and councilmembers said further advocacy, contract negotiations between hospital management and unions, or state-level enforcement actions (by CDPH) would be the proper channels for regulatory or contractual remedies.
The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8; the public-comment record from Nov. 24 will be part of the minutes but no city-initiated enforcement or policy action was announced at that meeting.
