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Nurse quits Washington state hospital with 'official notice' printed on cake

By Ben Hooper
A Washington state nurse used this cake to resign from her position at a hospital. Screenshot: KOMO-TV
A Washington state nurse used this cake to resign from her position at a hospital. Screenshot: KOMO-TV

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LAKEWOOD, Wash., June 29 (UPI) -- A Washington state nurse quit her position at a troubled hospital by having a cake delivered to her ward bearing her "official notice" of resignation.

Sara Childers said she moved from Wyoming to work at Western State Hospital in Lakewood, but after seven months on the job she decided that she'd had enough.

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"It's such a large institution. It could do so much so good, but it's just one of the worst places right now," Childers told KOMO-TV.

The nurse said staff aren't properly trained at the facility, management focuses too much time on disciplining employees for mistakes, and nurses face low pay and long hours at the hospital.

"How do we control the population with such little staff and so many patients? And you can't have individualized treatment that way," Childers said.

Childers had a cake delivered Thursday to Forensics Ward 2 reading: "Swing shift: I [heart] you! Western State Hospital: I QUIT!!!"

The cake reads "Official notice" and bears Childers' signature.

She said the cake quitting was meant to give some cheer to her former coworkers.

"I kind of just wanted to laugh with everybody again when I left," Childers said.

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She said it was also a pointed message for hospital management.

"I'm not the kind of person who is going to shut up and I'm not the kind of person who's going to not do anything," Childers said.

A British man took a similar tactic when he left his job at Stansted Airport to pursue his dream -- baking cakes for a living.

"To The Management, Border Force, Stansted," Chris Holmes wrote on the cake in 2013. "Today is my 31st birthday, and having recently become a father I now realize how precious life is and how important it is to spend my time doing something that makes me, and other people, happy. For that reason I hereby give notice of my resignation in order that I may devote my time and energy to my family and to my cake business which has grown steadily over the past few years. I wish the organization and my colleagues the best for the future and I remind you that, if you enjoy this cake, you can order more at www.mrcake.co.uk. Sincerely, Chris Holmes (Mr. Cake)"

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