Kaiser mental health workers to begin five-day strike Monday across California

#KaiserPermanente #Therapists #Psychologists #Socialworkers #MFT #LCSW,

About 4,000 unionized therapists, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health workers at 100 Kaiser Permanente medical offices across California plan to begin a five-day strike Monday.

The strikes are slated to start at 6 a.m. Monday at 10 locations in Southern, Central and Northern California. In the Bay Area, workers will form picket lines Monday outside Kaiser’s San Francisco medical center on Geary Boulevard and two Santa Clara locations — the medical center on Lawrence Expressway and Tantau Clinic on Homestead Road.

Protests by members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers will continue throughout the week at various locations. They plan to picket outside Kaiser’s Oakland medical center on Tuesday; Livermore, Redwood City, San Leandro, Vallejo and Walnut Creek medical centers on Wednesday; and Oakland, San Jose, San Rafael and Vacaville on Friday.

The workers are objecting to what they say are long wait times — weeks or sometimes months — for patients trying to see a mental health professional for follow-up appointments.

The union’s contract with Kaiser expired in September 2018. In December, thousands of NUHW workers engaged in a statewide strike over similar concerns about patient wait times.

“We’re fighting to make Kaiser provide quality mental health care,” said Matt Hannon, a Kaiser psychologist in South San Francisco. “Our patients can’t get timely appointments, and our schedules are booked solid.”

Kaiser facilities will remain open during the strike, a Kaiser spokeswoman said. Kaiser patients who have appointments with mental health clinicians scheduled for next week should plan to keep those appointments unless contacted by Kaiser to inform them otherwise, she said. Physicians, managers and non-unionized contract mental health workers will staff the appointments.

“It is disappointing that, once again, the leadership of the National Union of Healthcare Workers is calling on our mental health therapists to walk away from their patients,” Kaiser Vice President of Communications John Nelson said in a statement. “This planned strike does not make sense given that we’re offering generous wages and benefits that will keep our therapists among the best compensated in Californian ... and have taken important steps to help address the nation’s crisis in mental health care — hiring hundreds of new therapists, building new treatment facilities, and investing $40 million to help people enter the mental health care profession.”

In 2013, Kaiser faced a $4 million fine by the California Department of Managed Health Care for inadequate patient access to mental health treatment. In 2017, the agency again criticized Kaiser for delays in behavioral health treatment but did not issue another fine.

By Catherine Ho -sfchronicle.com

Comments

9 Self-Compassion Exercises & Worksheets for Increasing Compassion

#Compassion #Love #Mindfulness By Courtney Ackerman We know about the importance of love and compassion for others. As the Dalai Lama stated, humanity cannot survive without these characteristics. I’ve always loved this quote, in part because it can be taken two ways: either humanity will become physically extinct without love and compassion, or humanity will become metaphorically extinct without love and compassion – meaning these two concepts are intrinsic parts of what it means to be human. I tend to take the second perspective, but either way, the Dalai Lama’s meaning is clear: we must cultivate love and compassion if we hope to survive and thrive as a species. Another insightful quote about compassion also comes from the Dalai Lama : “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Compassion, then, is not only a vital piece of our humanity, it is also an extremely effective tool for improving our lives and the liv

The Enduring Beauty Of Selena's Legacy

#Selena #Tejano #SelenaQuintanillaPerez By Ashley Monae Oct 10, 2017 rez. On March 31, 1995, the world was shaken by the untimely death of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez. At just 23 years old, her career was skyrocketing toward crossover success. But just as she was settling into her fame, it was taken away in the blink of an eye when she was shot and tragically killed by a former fan club president. No one foresaw the harrowing ordeal, and the news arrived without warning. As a result, Selena, who was poised for pop culture phenomenon status, would unfortunately never witness her efforts and hard work fully materialize. Selena's legacy continues to shine two decades following her passing from her music to makeup lines and museums. Her star took flight in earnest one night in 1989 when Selena performed at the San Antonio Convention Center. The occasion was the ninth annual Tejano Music Awards. Her irresistible charm lit up the stage as she sang the likes of &qu

How to Avoid Coronavirus on Flights: Forget Masks, Says Top Airline Doctor

#China #Coronavirus #Outbreak #Quarantine #Wuhan #Airlines #Handwashing Forget face masks and rubber gloves. The best way to avoid the coronavirus is frequent hand washing, according to a medical adviser to the world’s airlines. The virus can’t survive long on seats or armrests, so physical contact with another person carries the greatest risk of infection on a flight, said David Powell, a physician and medical adviser to the International Air Transport Association . Masks and gloves do a better job of spreading bugs than stopping them, he said. As concern mounts about the scale of the outbreak, carriers from United Airlines Holdings Inc. to Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. have scrapped thousands of flights to China. Here is an edited transcript from an interview with Powell. IATA represents about 290 airlines and more than 80% of global air traffic. Q: Is there a risk of becoming contaminated with the virus on a plane? A: The risk of

Triple5Light Therapy

#UriahTherapist #BlackMaleTherapist #BlackTherapist #Psychotherapy #Marriageandfamilytherapist #LGBTAffirmingTherapy #Triple5LightTherapy #AfricanAmericantherapist #LatinX AsianX #ABLM I have a considerable background working with the African American community and other communities of color & the LGBTQ and non- binary communities. I work with Adults, Teens, Individuals, and Couples from all cultural backgrounds. Together we can address issues important to you, such as anxiety, depression, cultural identities, and trauma. I recognize the role that race, culture, and identity play in our lives and how oppression, prejudice, and racism(& other isms), can hinder our wellness. My Background and Approach Over the past five years, I have worked with teens, communities of color, and the LGBT population. I have experience working with, school stress, workplace stress, first-generation immigrants, the dynamics of aging, racism, homophobia, transphobia, conflict, and life t

Triple5Light Therapy

Search This Blog