Hospice East Bay workers say they will strike Tuesday to protest spiking caseloads. Nearly 80 nurses, social workers, chaplains and bereavement counselors at Hospice East Bay joined the National Union of Healthcare Workers in 2023. The group said they’re still seeking their first contract after about 18 months of negotiations. The group said Friday in a statement they “are fed up with a severe understaffing of nurses and frustrated that management is bargaining in bad faith and refusing to enshrine existing patient care protocols into a contract before the hospice turns over control to an out-of-state chain.”
“I’m supposed to have 10 patients, but I have 15 on my caseload because we’ve lost a lot of qualified nurses,” Jill Tobin, a nurse at Hospice East Bay, said in the statement. “We’re in people’s homes witnessing their suffering, but we don’t have enough time to provide the care that our patients need.” Hospice East Bay said it’s prepared for the strike. A contingency team of qualified clinicians will be available to respond to urgent needs and provide necessary care. Hospice physicians and administrative staff will remain on-call and accessible by phone for any time-sensitive concerns. “We respect our staff’s right to advocate for their needs and remain committed to working toward constructive solutions. At the same time, our priority is — and always will be — the well-being of those entrusted to our care,” said Chris Falley, executive director of Hospice East Bay. The union said their organizing drive “was part of a flurry of union activity among hospice workers, as the industry began major consolidations amid the entry of for-profit operators that have transformed hospice care from a community-based service to a money-making venture.”
The one-day strike will begin at 6 a.m. at Hospice East Bay in Pleasant Hill. The union said since 2022, more than 400 hospice workers in Northern California have joined NUHW. Earlier this month, NUHW members at two Providence hospices in Sonoma County held one of the first ever strikes by local hospice workers, seeking a contract before Providence turned over operations to a for-profit, private equity-owned company. The union said Hospice East Bay was founded in 1977 and is the second-largest hospice provider serving Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties. It also said, although the hospice still gets strong marks in federal patient care surveys, it has started cutting back services, eliminating its music therapy program in December, as it prepares to turn over operations to Chapters Health System, a national hospice chain based in Florida.
Are the same nurses that make over $200K + benefits?
well aren’t they thoughtful. Should be fired and hire more compassionate people.
Is the increase in caseloads a result of Gavin giving free healthcare to the criminal illegal invaders? I have friends and colleagues in the medical profession, and they’ve been telling
me about the struggle of keeping up with the demands of added patients, especially when
a lot of them do not speak English.
I said it from the beginning, giving free healthcare to criminal illegal invaders will overwhelm the system. I expect we will be seeing a lot more of this in the future, pharmacies, and walk in clinics, seem to be reaching their capacity.
BINGO! Hospice care, including services provided by organizations like Hospice of the East Bay, is typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid ~~(but both programs paying out for so many illegals, they’ve stripped hospice care funds to the bone) or, private health insurance, (but insurance co’s have spent so much buying elections for “rate friendly” governors and insurance commissioners, they say they are also stiipped to the bone – and cannot afford to support Unionized, CORPORATE dying care .)
~~~
Even so,,,, The very thought of having a nurse showing up for work, ‘pretending’ they aren’t angry and resenting their job ~ of caring for your loved one…? That gives me chills.
Dawg you are right. I lost my doctor when Obama care came in, he said “too many people, no way I can do this and be any good” (Kaiser)
“Affordable Healthcare” was the lie sold now look where we are!
..have heard the same thing of John Muir lately
you did not hear wrong