National Guard called to help after nurses walk out of assisted living facility – WVIR

FINDLAY, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) – The National Guard was called in to help after nurses walked out of an assisted living facility in Ohio.

Former residents told WTVG that the staff walked out of Fox Run of Findlay Assisted Living because they were overworked and underpaid.

“It got to a point where us nurses were working anywhere from 18 to 21 hours and we would reach out to management and the only response we would get was, ‘Oh boy, that sucks’ and ‘Oh boy, I hate that,’” former wellness director and nurse Ajaih Insley said.

Insley said she and the other two other nurses at the facility were left with no choice but to walk out. She felt the extended shifts were putting themselves and the residents in danger.

“So even my father-in-law was a resident there and he wasn’t getting his medication, and diabetics who were there who weren’t getting medicine in case there was an emergency,” Insley said.

Insley said the exhaustion meant the nurses were in no state of mind to be giving out medication, but leaving the shift meant major consequences.

“As a nurse, you can’t leave without another nurse replacing you. That is abandonment and you can lose your nursing license for it, so we were literally stuck there until someone could replace us,” Insley said.

On Dec. 20, she said the nurses felt they had no other choice and walked out. That is when the National Guard stepped in.

“The Ohio National Guard was able to provide several hours of support to ensure there were no lapses in care or coverage,” the Ohio Deparment of Health said in statement.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health said the National Guard was only needed for a short period of time.

Fox Run of Findlay Assisted Living never returned WTVG’s request for comment.

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