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Bakersfield ABC23 station featured NUHW members Mayra Castro and Antonia Rodarte in a story about the new contract mental healthcare workers have ratified with Kaiser Permanente after a six-month strike where they were fighting for higher pay, and more time for documentation between patients. ABC7, Becker’s Hospital Review, MyNewsLA, NBC7 San Diego, CB8 San Diego, Fox5 San Diego, Audacy, Spectrum News and L.A. Taco also published stories about the end of the strike.
NUHW President Sophia Mendoza was quoted in this San Francisco Chronicle article about Governor Gavin Newsom imposing nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in California’s psychiatric hospitals in response to the paper’s investigative series.
The Fullerton Observer featured NUHW member Grace Arrieta, a caregiver at Prime Healthcare’s West Anaheim Medical Center, in an article about the informational picket held by workers who are pushing for higher salaries and safe staffing levels at the Orange County facility. The workers are launching a 5-day strike between May 26 and May 30.
NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli is quoted in a Healthcare Brew story about NUHW filing a complaint documenting that Kaiser is illegally using unlicensed clerks equipped with a computer algorithm to triage mental health patients.
The Department of Managed Health Care fined Kaiser Permanente $819,500 for failing to respond to 61 member complaints in a timely manner. Health plans must acknowledge receipt of a standard grievance within five calendar days, resolve the grievance within 30 days, and also send a written notice of that resolution to the member. Health plans are also required to inform members of their rights to appeal the decision if they don’t agree with the plan’s resolution. According to TV station KCRA, an investigation of several member complaints found 14 cases where Kaiser did not provide the written acknowledgment of the receipt of a grievance within five calendar days. In 54 cases, Kaiser did not respond to the member’s grievance within 30 calendar days as required, the regulator said.
Senators Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Jan Shakowsky, D-Ill., reintroduced the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act that would require hospitals to develop annual staffing plans that meet the minimum staffing ratios set forth in the legislation. Becker’s Hospital Review reported that hospitals would also be required to maintain records of RN staffing and post notices of minimum ratios. The proposed legislation mirrors California’s landmark staffing law enacted in 1999 – the only state with mandated nurse-to-patient ratios for acute care hospitals.
