Hospital Watchdog Statement:

February 16, 2023

Nurse Julie Griffin and her lawyers faced down HCA Westside hospital over unsafe staffing on a cardiac ICU. With the trial date just days away, HCA apparently decided it was not in its best interests to go to trial. HCA made a monetary settlement with Julie and resolved the case.

It’s possible the current robust activism from the nursing community impacted HCA’s decision. As other nurses step forward to challenge unsafe conditions in hospitals, Hospital Watchdog stands ready to provide needed media support. Here’s hoping other nurse’s journeys will also be successful.

Julie Griffin, BSN, RN Statement

My case vs HCA Westside has been resolved.

Many thanks to Hospital Watchdog and so many others for their continued support during this difficult time.  I will continue to raise awareness and support other nurses that do so in regards to the importance of safe staffing in hospital and long term care settings.  As healthcare continues to change, nurses along side of the patients we serve, should never be afraid to advocate.  In order to improve patient outcomes, we must remain vocal.

Last year I attended the National Nurses March in Washington DC.  The sight of so many healthcare professionals coming together brought me to tears.  I have been a registered nurse for almost 30 years and can say without a doubt, change is happening.  I have listened and watched so many of my colleagues go the  distance for safer environments.  Now is the time.

We often hear the narrative that there is a nursing shortage, I believe there isn’t. I firmly believe the nurse’s workplace environment often doesn’t allow nurses the ability to be a true advocate thereby discouraging others to remain at the bedside or pursue the profession. Nurses are not the only advocates. Patients and their loved ones are advocates too. Organizations such as Hospital Watchdog have the same agenda… safer healthcare for all Americans.

It is imperative that we continue to work together for the safest systems achievable. We are all too familiar with the Johns Hopkins study that declared medical errors as the 3rd leading cause of death. Regardless of why those errors happen, whether short staffing or system failures, change is needed.