Cheer Liv is used to running back and forth between patients who are often on ventilators and in need of constant care.
But Liv, a respiratory therapist at Garfield Medical Center, rarely gets the help he needs to keep up because of chronic understaffing.
“We just can’t be limited in numbers,” the 43-year-old Monterey Park resident said. “I’m often trying to move equipment from one room to another, and these are patients who can’t breathe on their own.”
Liv isn’t alone. Scores of employees throughout the Monterey Park hospital say they’re often scrambling to do the job of two or more people in an effort to keep things running.
The situation prompted nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians, licensed vocational workers and other healthcare workers to picket the medical center on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The rally was the second of four protests to be held at AHMC Healthcare hospitals in the region. Employees picketed Doctors Hospital of Riverside last week, and additional rallies are set for Tuesday, Jan. 30 at Greater El Monte Community Hospital and Monterey Park Hospital.
The employees, who number 1,100 among the four facilities, are represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. Their contract expired Dec. 31 and their last bargaining session was held Monday with additional sessions set for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Representatives with AHMC could not be reached for comment.
Employees at all four hospitals say they’ve been pushed to the limit by management and are calling on AHMC to address the staffing crisis through ongoing contract negotiations.
The situation comes in the midst of a healthcare staffing crisis across the state. California faces a massive shortage of allied healthcare workers — job classes that include medical assistants, respiratory therapists, emergency room workers, licensed vocational nurses, lab assistants, housekeepers and other frontline staff.
Jesus Rodarte, an admitting representative…
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