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The union representing corrections health nurses says its members are demanding a leadership shake-up at Multnomah County Health’s corrections division.
The division is led by Myque Obiero who, despite being a former nurse himself, has failed to quell safety and staffing concerns from the rank-and-file. He’s been in charge over an unprecedented year of deaths at the county’s two adult jails.
In February, the union asked nurses to vote whether they had confidence in leadership. The results were unambiguous: 97% gave a vote of no confidence.
In recent years, nurses have faced rampant mandatory overtime that is burning them out and making the short-staffing even worse. The county says it’s made a variety of efforts to address the problem, including budgeting for more positions, hiring a dedicated recruiter, and bringing on dozens of contract nurses through staffing agencies.
But it’s not moving the needle, says Kevin Mealy, a spokesman for the Oregon Nursing Association. “We haven’t seen positive changes for providers or the people they serve. If anything, things have stagnated and gotten worse.”
The union has asked the county to negotiate higher wages, but so far, Mealy says, it has declined. A spokesperson noted that nurses could see wage increases of up to 9% under its current contract but declined to comment on the no-confidence vote.