Nurse Margarita Montijo (L) calls on the next patient as nurse Mariantonieta Delgado (R) goes over paper work with a woman receiving a prenatal exam at the Maternity Outreach Mobile in Phoenix
Nurse Margarita Montijo (L) calls on the next patient as nurse Mariantonieta Delgado (R) goes over paper work with a woman receiving a prenatal exam at the Maternity Outreach Mobile in Phoenix, Arizona October 8, 2009. The maternity outreach program helps uninsured women living in the Phoenix metropolitan area receive the proper treatment and care during and after their pregnancy. The Maternity Outreach Mobile is equipped with two exam rooms, an ultrasound machine, an external fetal monitor, a laboratory and offers pregnancy tests, referrals and immunization for children. Reuters

Thousands of California nurses will go on strike on Thursday.

Nurses from Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health facilities, as well as Children's Hospital Oakland are expected to participate in the strike, the Associated Press reported.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United believes that approximately 23,000 nurses will leave work at 7 a.m. on Thursday, the AP reported.

The nurses are striking for one day in part because they want to protest restrictions on patient advocacy.

We staunchly refuse to be silenced on patient care protections, registered nurse Sharon Tobin said in an organization press release. A common theme throughout management's proposals is removing our presence on committees that address important patient care issues and nursing practices. As nurses, we speak up, and we insist on standards that safeguard our patients, but Sutter doesn't want to hear about anything that might cut into their huge profits.

All three health organizations have said they will have replacement nurses ready, the AP reported.

Sutter Health announced that quality patient care will continue to be provided while the company's nurses are on what they call a costly and unnecessary strike.

Licensed replacement nurses will be onsite so patients will continue to receive the quality care they have come to expect, Sutter Health wrote on its Web site. Our hospitals' contracts with replacement agencies require a minimum number of days. Nurses who choose to participate in the strike understand that they will return to work after the required contract period.

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