East Bay health care workers walk out in protest of proposed cuts
AP Breaking News
BILEN MESFIN, Associated Press Writer, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Monday, August 30, 2004

(08-30) 17:22 PDT OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --

At least 1,000 patients were denied medical treatment Monday after hundreds of nurses and other workers walked off the job before dawn at several East Bay hospitals, disgruntled by proposed layoffs that they say would cripple delivery of care.

The one-day strike shuttered outpatient services at two of Alameda County Medical Center's hospitals and three satellite clinics, forcing hospital officials to turn away the 1,000 patients who daily walk through their doors. Emergency rooms and trauma centers remained open.

Labor leaders said health care workers already suffer from low numbers and that the 200 proposed cuts, an estimated 10 percent of the work force, could seriously harm their ability to serve the county's neediest patients.

"I am tired of being short staffed everyday," said Jonna Freskos, 37, an intensive care unit nurse and one of more than 200 picketing nurses, orderlies and clerks who rallied outside Oakland's Highland Hospital on Monday. "Basic needs of the patients are not being met. They are forcing the nurses to do multiple jobs and still expect us to deliver quality patient care."

The latest planned cuts come six months after voters approved a half-cent sales tax hike intended to boost the County's public health care programs, particularly the Center's struggling network of hospitals and clinics. At the time, the Center had closed two of its outpatient clinics, leaving only three others open.

The Center's budget has been running in the red for at least the last four years, and has an estimated deficit of more than $70 million this year, said spokesman Mike Brown. It also owes the county $190 million dollars in back loans, he said.

Health care workers said the measure's $90 million estimated annual infusion should stave off any additional job losses, but Brown said the proposed cuts were still needed to balance the 2004-05 budget.

He called the funds raised by the measure "very helpful," but said that the Center needed to revamp its business practices to stay afloat in the long term. About 70 percent of the Center's revenue dollars go toward salaries and benefits, mostly because of an inflated staff to patient ratio, Brown said.

"The staff was allowed to grow to a size that did not match patient volume on a consistent basis over time," Brown said. "It is way out of whack."

Brown disputed labor leaders' claim that 500 workers walked out, saying that 35 of the County's 128 nurses did show up for work.

"I think that number is lower," he said. "There certainly weren't 500 people who were scheduled to work and stayed away from work."

The across-the-board job cuts target lab technicians, orderlies, certified nurse assistants, medical clerks, as well as other departments, but few registered nurses, Brown said.

The strike affects Highland Hospital in Oakland; Fairmont Hospital and the John George Psychiatric Pavilion, both in San Leandro; and three other community health centers in Newark, Hayward and Oakland.