CNN By Carma Hassan 9/25/2023
Under pressure that hasn’t eased since the pandemic, some health care workers are preparing to strike As the US hovers on the edge of another season of respiratory viruses, some health care workers are preparing to swap their medical instruments for picket signs, sounding the alarm about a staffing crisis that they say is already affecting patient care.
“Workers are up at night, the day before their shift, just thinking about what they’re going to walk into the next day because of short staffing,” said Gabe Montoya, an emergency room medical technician at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center in Southern California. “I’m being honest. It’s not hyperbole.”
Montoya, who has worked for the medical center for 15 years, is also part of the bargaining team at Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, a local union that is part of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.
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Health care workforce burnout Nationwide, burnout is part of what’s driving shortages of doctors, nurses and other health care workers.
Among doctors, for the third year in a row, 6 in 10 reported often having feelings of burnout, compared with 4 in 10 in 2018, according to a recent survey
Among nurses, a survey in April found that about half felt emotionally drained at work. Another survey in May found that while many cared very much about their work, their work satisfaction has declined and stress levels have increased.
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Workers argue for higher wages Low wages are another factor leading to staffing shortages.
Montoya said he sees colleagues whose wages have not kept up with inflation.
“There is a problem, right, when we have Kaiser workers in this huge conglomerate who are having to deal with living paycheck to paycheck,” he said, adding that some of his colleagues worry about being able to afford rent.
In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said it is deeply committed “to the economic well-being of our employees.”
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A possible turning point Renee Saldana, a spokesperson for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, said health care workers are hitting “a breaking point.”
“They’re just exhausted, tired, burnt out,” she said. “But they still want to be there for their patients. They do this because it’s a calling for them. They want to be there to help people. They run into the fire while people are running away from it.”
Saldana said the workers she represents want to see patient care improve.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/health/health-care-workers-under-pressure/index.html
