About Us
Who are we?
CT Nurses United was started by two UConn nursing graduates with the support of many close CT nurse friends.
After 9 years in nursing, we feel the frustration of healthcare workers struggling through the dysfunction of our healthcare system. There is SO MUCH money in healthcare, but too much of it has been funnelled away from taking care of patients. Like most nurses, we have a vision of healthcare is so much better.
We launched @CTNursesUnited on Instagram in July 2022.
The Instagram account has grown as a platform for nurses and other healthcare workers to communicate honestly about healthcare in CT. We have shared stories from thousands of RNs, LPNs, CNAs, NPs, MDs, DOs, RTs, RDs, and patients. We are all in agreement- CT needs drastic changes in healthcare NOW.
CTNU is currently a grassroots community advocacy group, but we are exploring pathways for CTNU to become an official non-profit organization with the capacity to fundraise, advocate, and organize healthcare workers across CT.
We are ready to do what it takes to make meaningful changes to our healthcare system.
If you’d like to support us, please contribute to our Patreon account. We are already meeting with lawyers, website developers, and community members, but your support would grow our capacity to build our vision for CTNU.
“Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” -Oprah Winfrey
What do we want?
We want honesty and transparency.
We want nurses to be able to speak openly about what is going on in the hospital without fear of retaliation. Hospitals should not intimidate their employees from speaking honestly with each other and the public about work conditions. We reject the current practice of hospitals marketing an image of high-quality care while patients are not receiving basic needs due to critical staffing levels. This is healthcare, people’s lives are at stake. The public deserves to know how executives are operating their community hospitals.
We want to improve work conditions to retain bedside nurses at the bedside.
Hospitals are blaming the lack of staff on a “nursing shortage,” but where is the evidence of a shortage? Out of all 86,000 licensed nurses in CT, only 44,000 are in practice! Where have all of these registered nurses gone if they aren’t working in the hospital? They’ve left for better, safer opportunities- travel nurse contracts in states with higher pay and safer ratios, or jobs outside of nursing. While patients receive only a fraction of the nursing care and monitoring they deserve, executives are still getting rich off of healthcare. We want immediate re-budgeting to prioritize patient care over executive salaries. This won’t solve all of our health system’s problems, but budgeting more money towards nursing and less towards administration will increase the retention of nurses who are leaving the bedside so that more nurses are available to help when patients need them.
We want to see legislation pass in CT that holds hospitals accountable for staffing decisions and protects nurses working in dangerously understaffed conditions.
Registered nurses are at risk of losing their licenses or being criminally liable for medical errors. Patients and hospitals may falsely label a dutiful nurse neglectful when in fact that nurse is doing the best they can with far too many patients. Hospitals are currently incentivized to understaff their patient care areas- it saves them money! We need safe staffing ratios and disincentives for hospitals to understaff.
We want nurses to join the campaign for a healthcare revolution.
There is so much money in healthcare. While the insurance and pharmaceutical industries make billions, patients are struggling to afford basic medications or reasonable health insurance. We believe everyone has the right to access healthcare without going bankrupt. We believe preventative care should be easily and readily available to everyone to promote wellness and reduce hospitalizations.