Members to highlight escalating safety crisis at psychiatric hospital in Annandale on Nov. 6

Union members from MAPE, AFSCME and MNA will rally at the Community Behavioral Health Hospital (CBHH) in Annandale next Thursday, Nov. 6, to highlight the escalating safety crisis at CBHH-Annandale. Over the past nine months, employees have endured seven assaults by patients and have had to perform 59 restraints. The informational picket will take place Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The root cause of this crisis is a broken patient admission process that disregards the safety of the facility and the clinical judgment of on-site staff. Workers are being forced to accept patients whose acuity is inappropriate for CBHH-Annandale's level of care and security.

CBHH-Annandale is a 16-bed, short-term inpatient psychiatric facility dedicated to providing compassionate and comprehensive care. The hospital is located at 400 Annandale Blvd. in Annandale.

Currently, dangerous patients from jails and detox centers are being admitted to the hospital. Management has begun increasing the previously agreed upon patient cap of 14 to 16. Staff believe management is maximizing profit at the expense of staff safety. One worker's teenage daughter told her mother she prays she comes home safely from work every day and pleads with her to find another job. No one should fear for their life just for showing up to work.

Hospital employees are asking for

• Immediate MAPE, MNA and AFSCME inclusion in the admission process

• Increased staffing ratios and temporary patient cap

• Creation of a Designated Safety Coordinator/Counselor 

• Formation of a Safety Committee and

• Transition to formal Meet and Confer Meetings.

Join your MAPE, AFSCME and MNA colleagues on the informational picket line at CBHH-Annandale on Nov. 6 as they fight for their safety on the job.