SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —þA five-day strike that started Monday for thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers across California has led executives to accuse the union of threatening patient care leading into the holidays.þþBoth sides have confirmed patient appointment cancellations due to the strike.þþÿIt's particularly disheartening that the union leadership would call this strike during the holiday season, when many of our patients with mental health needs may be at their most vulnerable,ÿ read a statement from Michelle Gaskill-Hames, chief nurse executive with Kaiser Permanente Northern California.þþHowever, a spokesman for the National Union of Healthcare Workers dispelled the notion this is a particularly vulnerable time.þþÿThere's a myth around holiday suicides. People think there's a great increase in holiday season. Having worked in this field, I see more patients in January after the holidays when people are kind of coming down,ÿ said Kenneth Rogers, Kaiser psychologist and National Union Healthcare Workers vice president.þþHealth care workers are striking due to dissatisfaction with Kaiser's efforts to address staffing and resource issues for mental health services.þþThroughout the week, workers will picket at several California medical centers, including facilities in Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton, Roseville and Vacaville, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers.þþKaiser psychologists, therapists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine specialists and other medical professionals will be walking off the job, the union said.þþMental health patients often wait more than a month for an appointment because there aren't enough clinicians, according to the union.þþKaiser says it's already hiring therapists and investing millions in improving its mental health care offices.þþKaiser officials said hospitals and medical offices will remain open during the strike.
Source: www.kcra.com
