Kaiser Permanente frontline worker discusses ‘unbearable’ impact of staffing shortage crisis

Tami Chew is on the picket line after working for Kaiser for 17 years and noticing a ‘deteriorating’ partnership between the coalition and the hospital system

A frontline worker has weighed in on the largest healthcare strike in the nation’s history, blaming Kaiser Permanente executives for their “greed” and emphasising the difficult working conditions they face due to a rampant staffing shortage.

“Right now we’re out here on the strike line because Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to frontline healthcare workers and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions. We need to end the Kaiser short staffing crisis,” Tami Chew said told The Independent from the picket line.

Ms Chew has worked for Kaiser Permanente for 17 years. She previously worked as a pharmacy technician and now works as a health plan representative at Kaiser Roseville, which includes helping patients “who reach a point in their care where they’re not sure what to do, like when they have a difficult diagnosis or need a second opinion.”

The strikers went into effect on Wednesday, with health workers’ major focus on solving the staffing shortage that pervades the Kaiser system. Although the Covid-19 pandemic overwhelmed facilities and workers over the world, Ms Chew said that the shortage at Kaiser began before the coronavirus spread.

Ms Chew said that she has personally felt her role become more strained over the years due to the “deteriorating” partnership between the coalition and Kaiser. That gradual change became dramatic three years ago, she said, when her team of 13 people was slashed to six; now she is the only person still serving on the team from that time.

The reduced staff has exacerbated the burden on her team to produce results at a rate that is impossible to keep up. In a role like hers, delivering results quickly is crucial. Ms Chew said she often deals with patients who are at risk of losing a limb or their life, so “those decisions need to be made by the organisation within 72 hours.”

She shared one heartbreaking case of a patient she met who was diagnosed with brain cancer. The patient and their loved one spoke to Ms Chew, seeking a second opinion about the diagnosis.

However, Ms Chew said, breaking down in tears, “By the time that their request for a second opinion was reviewed, unfortunately their second opinion was no longer needed because they passed.”

She continued, “That’s devastating to the family but as employees, that’s devastating as well because these are things that we carry.”

Ms Chew called it “devastating” for patients and loved ones to be forced to reach out for help, but only by chat, email or over the phone. In some cases, patients have to travel 25 minutes for care, Ms Chew added. She said from her experience, most people want to have face-to-face conversations to explain their situation and figure out their best next steps.

The ability to have that in-person discussion has been “taken away from them,” Ms Chew said, before pointing fingers at Kaiser. “They have no one to turn to. And I feel like executives have made that choice to limit their access.”

Ms Chew said that Kaiser executives chose to close many of the member service offices in California and opted against hiring more workers “because of their greed.”

She pointed to the hospital system’s finances for the first half of 2023. Kaiser Permanente announced in its releases that over the course of the first two quarters, it has earned a net income of $3.2bn. “So they need to come to the table and bargain in good faith and that’s what we’re asking,” Ms Chew said.

The health plan representative emphasised the workers’ focus on patient care — which is inherently tied to the staffing shortage.

Addressing the Kaiser short staffing crisis means an improvement in patient safety, Ms Chew said. “Patient safety is why we do what we do. This is why we chose the careers that we’re in. This is why we get up every day and come to work and why we love what we do.”

The Independent has reached out to Kaiser for comment. In its latest statement on Wednesday morning, the healthcare system said that the two parties “are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement. There has been a lot of progress, with agreements reached on several specific proposals late Tuesday.” However, neither party has elaborated on what those specific proposals are.

The strike is predicted to span three days. Given the nature of the professions of those striking, the coalition gave an advance notice of the potential strike dates; Ms Chew pointed out that the coaltion authorised a strike for up to 14 days.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no deal has been reached.