How best to care for patients was at the center of a debate between Kaiser Permanente and its almost 18,000 Northern California nurses, who walked out on strike Tuesday.
The nurses have long complained of chronic staffing shortages and contend that patients are not being admitted when they should be and are being discharged too soon.
“Our issue is not about money; this is about patient care,” said Robert Marth, a crisis nurse who was coordinating a picket line at the San Leandro Kaiser hospital. “Unfortunately, it’s come to this.”
The hospital system’s administration rebutted the nurse’s claim in a news release. “Kaiser Permanente is one of the best-staffed health care systems in California and the nation. Our nurse staffing always meets, and often exceeds, state-required levels,” it said.
“Because of changes in how and where patients are receiving care that are affecting all of health care, we do have some pockets where we are overstaffed and need to move nurses where they are needed,” the news release said.
Outside San Leandro Kaiser Permanente, more than 100 employees in red shirts, chanting, singing and carrying signs, were on the sidewalk at 9 a.m. Tuesday waving to passing drivers who honked their car horns.
A similar scenes played out around the region. In front of the Kaiser-Richmond campus about 50 pickets gathered carrying signs and airing their complaints through bullhorns, drawing a chorus of honks from passing cars.
More than 400 nurses and supporters gathered in front of the Kaiser Medical Center in Walnut Creek, toting signs and chanting protests.
The strike by California Nurses Association affects 21 Kaiser hospitals and about 35 clinics, said Katy Roemer, a nurse at Kaiser Oakland and union negotiator. The union and Kaiser have been in contract talks since July. The nurses’ contract ended in August, was extended twice and is now expired.
Kaiser said the day was proceeding normally inside the hospitals, with extra security on hand to ensure the safety of patients and nurses.
In San Leandro, security cars patrolled the parking lots where portable surveillance cameras had been set up, and guards stood outside entrances to the hospital and medical center. People in suits wandered through the lots.
The activity was a surprise for Castro Valley resident Christina Yamat, who came in to pick up a prescription. She said she had not known there would be a strike, but noticed the difference at the hospital.
“People in suits were greeting you when you came in the door,” she said.
Inside the hospital, visitors were asked if they needed help.
Hayward resident Irais Gutierrez said she had no trouble seeing her doctor right away, but she saw no nurses.
Kaiser said that though it will remain open during the strike, some elective procedures and routine appointments may be rescheduled.
A Kaiser administrator confirmed that extra security had been organized for the strike. It was “a precautionary measure to make sure our patients are safe and our nurses are safe both inside and outside the hospital,” said Odette Bolano, a Kaiser senior vice president. Kaiser also hired traveling nurses to fill in for the strikers.
Robert Tereck, a retiree who lives near the Kaiser Walnut Creek facility, said he walked down the street after hearing all the noise, thinking it was a music concert.
“I’m lucky I don’t have an appointment today — or tomorrow,” he said after hearing the strike would continue Wednesday.
He is a Kaiser member, but the scene gave him pause, he said.
“It’s open enrollment season for me, but I could leave Kaiser and go to Blue Cross or another health plan,” he said. “I’ll have to do more research.”
The strike coincides with a national day of action planned Wednesday by nurses who want hospitals to give them better protection and training against the Ebola virus. Kaiser nurses also accuse the hospital system of failing to adopt optimal protections against Ebola, which Kaiser denies.
Kaiser has been preparing for the possibility of Ebola since early October, Bolano said. Teams of physicians and nurses have undergone intensive training, and all staff members who would be a patient’s first contact have been trained to identify and isolate possible carriers, she said.
Nurses also were striking for two days at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital and Watsonville Community Hospital, the union said.
Staff writers Joyce Tsai and Robert Rogers contributed to this story. Contact Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473, or follow her at Twitter.com/rdparr1.
