"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."
"The strike is open-ended until the health care giant and union alliance reach a contract agreement. 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."
The strike at Kaiser Permanente entered a third week as tens of thousands of health care workers, including a 31,000-member nurses alliance, walked off the job demanding a new contract. Contract talks remain distant, prompting an open-ended work stoppage that has disrupted services: surgeries have been postponed or rescheduled, pharmacies and labs temporarily closed, and patients left without timely treatment. Kaiser reported that over 35% of striking nurses and professionals have returned to some facilities, while union leaders disputed those claims and noted financial pressure on strikers. Patients with urgent conditions reported delayed care amid staffing shortages and hospital refusals.
Read at The Mercury News
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