With Huge Profits, Say Nurses, Kaiser Can Afford to Strengthen Patient Care Standards

With what nurses say is a growing erosion of care conditions in Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics—especially egregious, according to nurses, in light of Kaiser’s $2.5 billion in profits in the last six months—Kaiser registered nurses and nurse practitioners will hold informational pickets at 22 medical centers across California on Thursday, November 2.

The RNs and NPs, members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) are calling on Kaiser to support a series of RN proposals that would enhance safe staffing and general care standards. Nurse negotiators and Kaiser officials are currently in talks for a new collective bargaining agreement. CNA represents 19,000 Kaiser RNs and NPs.

“A nurse’s job is to protect our patients. How can we deliver the high quality care that Kaiser promises—and that our patients deserve—without safe staffing and access to necessary resources?” said Zenei Cortez, a South San Francisco Kaiser RN and co-president of CNA. “Kaiser has made $2.5 billion in profits in just the past six months. So when nurses stand up to defend patient care standards, we are simply saying our patients should always come first. Period.”

The proposals RNs and NPs say they are calling on Kaiser to support include improved RN staffing in hospitals to protect sicker patients sometimes inappropriately placed in hospital units with fewer RNs; increased RN staffing in clinics, call centers and home health and hospice where Kaiser is increasingly shifting care delivery; protecting patients from unsafe discharges to lower levels of care; expanded hands-on training for all nurses; and better patient access to nurse practitioners.

Thursday’s informational pickets dovetail on rallies held at Kaiser facilities across northern California, in September. Nurses say they will continue doing whatever it takes to draw public attention to the eroding patient care standards that they warn have a direct impact on health outcomes for Kaiser’s patients. Kaiser is both the largest hospital chain and health insurer in California.

“Kaiser nurses are uniting to advocate for our patients. We have been standing up and speaking out, urging Kaiser to address the patient care concerns that nurses have been drawing their attention to for years,” said Kaiser Roseville RN Dolores Trujillo. “We want to provide the best possible care at the bedside, and we know our patients count on us to make Kaiser right for them.”

“It’s unconscionable that Kaiser, while making such huge profits, is cutting corners by increasingly sending home patients who are acutely ill and in need of hospital care—so that family members who are not properly trained or equipped can act as caregivers,” said Kaiser South Sacramento RN Diane McClure. “In many cases, this only results in readmissions, and sicker patients, and we never want our patients to suffer when Kaiser can afford to strengthen its care standards.”

Despite its enormous profits, Kaiser has implemented cost cutting measures that, nurses say, decrease nurses’ ability to provide proper care, resulting in too many patients being denied care.

 “We invite the community to join nurses on Thursday, to stand with us, as we stand up for them,” said Cortez. “We will never be silenced when it comes to advocating for our patients.”

Informational picket locations and times, all at Kaiser Medical Centers

• Kaiser Antioch | 4501 Sand Creek Road Antioch | 3:30 – 5:30pm
• Kaiser Fremont | 39400 Paseo Padre Parkway Fremont | 11:30am – 1:30pm
• Kaiser Fresno | 7300 North Fresno Street Fresno | 8:00 – 10:00am
• Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center | | 8:00am – 2:00pm
• Kaiser Manteca | 1777 W. Yosemite Avenue Manteca | 7:30 – 9:30am
• Kaiser Modesto | 4601 Dale Road Modesto | 4:00 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Oakland | 3600 Broadway Oakland | 4:00 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Redwood City | 1100 Veterans Boulevard Redwood City | 7:30 – 9:00am | 2:30 – 5:00pm
• Kaiser Richmond | 901 Nevin Avenue Richmond | 3:45 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Roseville | 1600 Eureka Road Roseville | 3:15 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Sacramento | 2025 Morse Avenue Sacramento | 8:00 – 10:00am
• Kaiser San Francisco | 2238/2425 Geary Blvd San Francisco | 12:30 – 2:00pm | 3:30 – 5:30pm
• Kaiser San Jose | 250 Hospital Parkway San Jose | 3:30 – 5:30pm
• Kaiser San Leandro | 2500 Merced Street San Leandro | 7:30 – 9:30am
• Kaiser San Rafael | 99 Montecillo Road San Rafael | 3:30 – 5:30pm
• Kaiser Santa Clara | 710 Lawrence Expressway Santa Clara | 7:30 – 10:00am
• Kaiser South SF | 1200 El Camino Real South SF | 7:30 – 9:00am
• Kaiser South Sac. | 6600 Bruceville Drive Sacramento | 3:30 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Stockton | 7373 West Lane Stockton | 12:30 – 1:30pm
• Kaiser Vacaville | 1 Quality Drive Vacaville | 3:30 – 5:30pm
• Kaiser Vallejo | 975 Sereno Drive Vallejo | 3:45 – 6:00pm
• Kaiser Walnut Creek | 1425 South Main Street Walnut Creek | 2:00 – 6:00pm

View Images of the Event