"Michael Nestor, a retired emergency room doctor with Kaiser, is upset with the company's entire medical system. The 74-year-old Huntington Beach resident suffers from two medical conditions he characterizes as life-threatening. Neither is being treated urgently as the strike continues. I don't deserve to die like this. It's a horrible way to treat me, Nestor said in a phone interview Monday. How does an urgent surgery like mine get canceled?"
"On Feb. 3, a few days after the strike began, a surgical procedure to remove a growth blocking his airway was postponed due to staff shortages at the Kaiser hospital in Baldwin Park where it was scheduled after Kaiser's Irvine hospital initially refused to take the operation, he said. That surgery has since been rescheduled for this week in Irvine."
"In the past week, Kaiser reported that some of its pharmacies and labs were temporarily closed due to the strike. The Oakland-based health care giant this week said that more than 35% of the striking nurses and health care professionals — or just under 8,000 — have returned to work, with as many as 55% of strike staff back at work in some locations. Kaiser spokesman Terry Kanakri declined to identify the medical facilities where the highest volume of returning workers are located."
A large, open-ended strike at Kaiser Permanente began Jan. 26 and involves roughly 31,000 nurses and health care professionals, with broader union representation totaling about 34,000 employees. The work stoppage has caused postponed surgeries, temporary closures of some pharmacies and labs, and strained staffing at multiple facilities. Kaiser reported more than 35% of striking staff have returned to work, with higher return rates at some locations; the union disputed those claims. Individual patients are experiencing delayed urgent care and rescheduled operations while contract negotiations between the unions and Kaiser remain unresolved.
Read at www.ocregister.com
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