More Nurse Funding Included in County Budget
Kern County supervisors on Monday voted 4-0 to hire 50 new, full-time nurses at Kern Medical Center, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
Hospital CEO Peter Bryan said the nurses will relieve nurses who are currently working overtime and reduce the use of "traveling" nurses, who stay only temporarily at hospitals. Bryan added that the new nurses would create a more stable workforce at the medical center.
Two-thirds of the jobs will be filled by new graduates from nursing programs at Bakersfield College and California State University-Bakersfield, according to Toni Smith, director of patient care services at the hospital.
Kern Medical Center officials also said they will continue working to enroll more patients in Medi-Cal to help recover some money lost for treating the uninsured.
Supervisor Michael Rubio also asked if the creation of a sales or property tax could ease the financial strain on the hospital, but he did not say whether he supported such a measure (Burger, Bakersfield Californian, 6/12).