KAISER PERMANENTE: NURSE STRIKE MAY BE AVERTED
The California Nurses Association, "[b]owing to pressureThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
from state lawmakers," proposed yesterday "postponing for 10 days
a strike of 54 Northern California [Kaiser Permanente] facilities
at the height of the winter flu season," the San Francisco
Examiner reports (Rubin/Coile, 1/27). The CNA said it would
"call off a two-day strike set to begin tomorrow" if Kaiser
"agrees to reopen" its Martinez emergency room, which was closed
yesterday. However, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that
Kaiser officials said the condition was "unacceptable" and that
they would "not reopen the Martinez facility." Kaiser
spokesperson Lila Petersen said, "It's over. It's closed. If
the nurses' union leaders had a problem with the plans we were
working on in Martinez ... they had the last year-plus to make
their concerns known." Kaiser did say it would like to "resume
talks" with the union representing the HMO's nurses (Hytha,
1/27). "Until we get official notification that union leaders
are pulling the strike, we expect a strike Wednesday," said
Petersen. If the strike is postponed, Kaiser will seek the
services of "a federal mediator to get talks rolling again,"
according to Petersen (Examiner, 1/27).
MARTINEZ MANDATE
The Chronicle reports that the CNA yesterday sued "to force
Kaiser to open the Martinez emergency room, and to block any
closure of Richmond's emergency services." The CNA is charging
the state departments of health and corporations "of failing to
enforce state laws guaranteeing access to health plan members"
(1/27). The Examiner reports that in addition to the Richmond
facility, the CNA was worried Kaiser's Oakland hospital was "also
close to being shut down." CNA spokesperson Charles Idelson
said, "Most of the hospitals that Kaiser is closing are located
in lower-income areas. We have raised the issue of medical red-
lining." However, Kaiser spokesperson Tim Debley "angrily
denounced" the allegations, saying "only the emergency room and
four in-patient beds were being closed in Martinez, but
outpatient services would be spared" (1/27).
EMERGENCY SITUATION
The Chronicle reports that "Contra Costa County officials
... have drafted a proposed contingency plan to declare a
countywide health care emergency" because of the flu season and
concerns about overcrowding at three Kaiser hospitals. If the
plan is enacted, it "would give the county's medical director
authority to intervene in some hospital operations," such as
requiring "Kaiser and other hospitals to cancel elective
procedures." However, the Chronicle reports California "state
law allowing emergency declarations specifically excludes labor
disputes" (1/27).