Kaiser Permanente nurses and hospital staff joined the system's 4,000 striking mental health employees on the picket line, which has led to the cancellation of some patient surgeries, according to CBS Sacramento.
"Patient safety is always our priority. The strike is being held by the union representing our mental health therapists. However, the nurses’ union is asking the nurses not to come to work, to support the therapists – even though we are not in bargaining with the nurses’ union and they recently signed a generous 5-year agreement with Kaiser Permanente," John Nelson, vice president of communication Kaiser Permanente."The decision of some nurses to agree to the union’s call not to come to work affects our staffing and we must use our resources to assure we take care of patients’ urgent needs. Not all non-urgent surgeries are being affected, because each surgery is dependent upon appropriate staffing. We apologize to any patient whose non-urgent surgery has been affected, and we are making every effort to reschedule promptly."
Kaiser staff confirmed with CBS Sacramento only some surgeries were canceled and rescheduled.
"Not all surgeries are being postponed. Surgeries are dependent upon appropriate staffing. We apologize to any patient whose non-urgent surgery has been postponed and will make every effort to reschedule promptly," Michelle Gaskill-Hames, BSN, RN, chief nurse executive at Kaiser Permanente, told CBS Sacramento.
More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:
10 most-read sepsis stories in 2018
Congo's Ebola outbreak hits 500 cases: 3 things to know
St. Luke's University Health Network sees 1st wave of flu hospitalizations — all in unvaccinated patients