Frustrated with unfair appointment quotas that force them to rush from patient to patient and a lack of input in crucial care decisions, nearly 30 workers at Providence Sonoma HomeCare, including speech language pathologists, physical therapists, home health aides, and licensed vocational nurses, voted overwhelmingly in August to join NUHW.
Among them was Arica Essner, an occupational therapist who traverses Sonoma County every day, providing in-home care to those recovering from surgery and other ailments. She has seen how Providence’s increasing corporatization impacts her and her colleagues’ workdays.
“Before, we had flexibility. We were able to spend the time with patients and not feel pressured to move on to the next one,” said Essner, who added that many of her patients require skilled, attentive care that can’t be rushed.
However, Providence imposed a point quota system based on the type of care provided to each patient. Essner said it’s often impossible to meet the quota in an eight-hour work day because of the distance between home visits and the time required for documentation and other duties.
“We have to either cut the visits short and drive to the next patient or work after hours,” she said, adding that this particularly overwhelms newer caregivers, who sometimes must work several hours off the clock to finish all their work.
“We can’t be as efficient, and we’re making more mistakes because we have to rush,” Essner said. “Basically, we’re driving on our lunch and breaks.”
This and the low pay lead to constant turnover, which also impacts patient care.
“We’re always training someone,” she said. “It’s hard to have quality care when you have to constantly get care from someone new.”
Essner said their priority is to bargain a contract that improves pay and restructures the point system to be more fair so they don’t lose any more workers.
They also want Providence to compensate them for using their own vehicles for work (currently, the company only covers mileage) and reimburse them for continuing education credits.
But most importantly, they want to have the opportunity to bring these and other issues to the table and for management to do something about them.
“People are excited, and a little overwhelmed as to how much more we still have to do,” Essner said. “But I tell them, ‘If you want to have a say, it’s time to step up and bargain instead of just complaining.’”
