By Victoria Franco. Bay City News.
A strike continues for Kaiser Permanente nurses in the greater Bay Area and across the state, who protested Thursday over the health care giant's alleged refusal to address concerns about health, safety and staffing shortages, according to the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United union.
Registered nurses and nurse practitioners from 22 Kaiser facilities across the state participated in the strike and said they have been in negotiations for a new contract with minor moves on major issues.
The nurses union says it wants contracts that include health and safety provisions that address infectious disease hazards, workplace violence prevention standards that protect front-line nurses and minimum staffing guidelines that ensure safe patient care.
"Kaiser earned more than $14 billion during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet we are still struggling with chronic staffing shortages across the state," said CNA President Cathy Kennedy, and a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Kaiser Roseville in a press release.
For its part, Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that staffing shortages are affecting all of care and other parts of the U.S. and that its facilities are not immune to the trend.
"We hear the fatigue and frustration of our nurses, and we continue to work effectively to recruit and retain dedicated and qualified nurses," Kaiser's statement said.
"Healthcare continues to face high demand, and we are actively working to fill vacant healthcare positions, as well as bringing in experienced temporary staff to support our workforce, so they can continue to provide high quality care." he stressed.
Northern California nurses have been negotiating since June, while Los Angeles nurses have been trying to reach an agreement since August of last year, according to CNA/NNU.
"You would think that, after two years, nurses would have secured the necessary PPE - Personal Protective Equipment - screening, testing and sick leave following exposure," Tinny Abogado, a registered nurse in the transitional care unit at Kaiser Los Angeles, said in a press release.
"Unfortunately, after years of putting our lives and communities at risk, Kaiser has yet to provide those assurances in our contract," he said.
A Kaiser representative said the health care company is optimistic that they will soon reach an agreement that honors its nurses while prioritizing affordability for its members.
A nurse at the Kaiser Fresno location alleges that her co-worker died because she did not have the necessary personal protective equipment.
Some Kaiser Permanente facilities in the greater Bay Area that had demonstrations included medical centers in Manteca, Modesto, Antioch, Fremont, Oakland, San Francisco, Walnut Creek and San Jose.
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