RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – On Thursday, registered nurses at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno will stage a silent vigil to “demand that hospital administration respect patients, the community, and nurses, as well as to memorialize their colleague Darrella Lydell.”

Darrella Lydell, RN, died on November 14 after working in the labor and delivery unit for 21 years.

The vigil comes only a week after Saint Mary’s announced its intention to discontinue Maternal Child Health services.

“Since its founding in 1908, Saint Mary’s mission has been to provide comprehensive, quality health care to our community,” said Heather Weehking, an RN in the labor and delivery unit. “Diminishing access to critical services like these is a disservice to that mission and to the entire Reno area. Nurses from across Saint Mary’s will stand with us in obstetrics acute care, pediatrics, labor and delivery, and neonatal intensive care to make sure management knows we’re united.”