Thousand Oaks healthcare workers to protest short-staffing, low wages

Angelina Valdivia knows what it’s like to be short on staffing.

As a food and nutrition worker at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Valdivia and her co-workers say they’re continually playing catch-up.

“We have nurses calling us because patients are hungry and waiting for food,” she said. “All we can do is our best … but it’s never enough.”

Several Los Robles employees who claim they’re constantly short-staffed plan to picket the hospital on Wednesday, March 1 to get their message out. They are among nearly 600 workers at the center represented by SEIU-UHW.

They include emergency room technicians, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, food service workers, dieticians and drivers. Their contract expires March 31.

HCA Healthcare, which owns and operates the hospital, keeps wages and staffing levels low, workers say, and it’s putting patient care at risk.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Los Robles Health System said its staffing is “safe, appropriate and in line with other community hospitals.” It added that the hospital values all of its employees and provides a safe environment for patients, caregivers and visitors.

Wednesday’s protest comes on the heels of a January rally at West Hills Hospital & Medical Center, another HCA-run facility where healthcare workers also claim they’re understaffed.

A recent SEIU report analyzed federal data, which showed chronic short-staffing at HCA hospitals and how it impacts patient care.

“HCA staffs its hospitals at very low levels, typically about 30% below the national average, according to the analysis of Medicare cost-report data,” the report said. “This trend of low staffing at HCA hospitals reflects an intentional corporate strategy that long predates the COVID pandemic.”

In a January 2022 survey of more than 1,500 frontline nurses and healthcare workers at HCA hospitals, nearly 80% reported witnessing patient care being jeopardized due to low staffing, the report said.

The SEIU-UHW employees are demanding increased staffing as well as a statewide healthcare minimum wage of $25 an hour.

Xochitl Gonzalez, a patent care technician who has worked at Los Robles for seven years, said she’s still earning $25 an hour.

Many of the patients Gonzalez assists have broken bones or are otherwise disabled. She helps them bathe and get to and from the restroom safely, among other duties.

“Sometimes I’m on a floor by myself with 30 patients I have to handle,” the 55-year-old Thousand Oaks resident said. “When it’s like that I can’t get to everybody, so people have to wait longer before I can attend to them.”

Ideally, Gonzalez said she should be handling no more than 10 patients at a time.

“If you have more you’re not providing quality care to anyone,” she said. “I pride myself on giving the best possible care to patients.”

In its statement, Los Robles Health System said it has a strong culture of respect and collaboration for its workers.

“Labor union negotiations are a part of our operations cycle, conducted every three years,” the statement said. “During each renewal period, our goal is the same: to secure a fair agreement that continues to support a culture of colleague safety, care excellence and compassion.”

Source: Orange County Register