Health care workers at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S. walked off the job on Wednesday morning, in an effort to ramp up pressure on their employer to fix a staffing shortage that has intensified since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
It is the biggest health care strike in U.S. history, according to the unions.
Kaiser, headquartered in Oakland, California, is one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the United States, serving nearly 13 million patients. Most Kaiser workers who have walked off the job will be on strike for three days, until Saturday morning — except those in Virginia and Washington D.C., who will be on strike for 24 hours.
What this means for patients
The health care provider has said its hospitals and emergency departments will remain open throughout the strike, staffed by physicians and other staff. It said it is onboarding professionals who will service in critical care roles during the strike.
Kaiser has warned patients that non-emergency and elective services may be rescheduled. The organization is expanding its network of pharmacy locations to include community pharmacies, to ensure patients can access medication in the event that outpatient pharmacies temporarily close. Inpatient pharmacies at Kaiser hospitals will stay open.
About 60% of Kaiser employees, including doctors, will still be working throughout the strike, according to…
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