Patients say they're just holding on and hoping for an end to the Kaiser to strike affecting mental health care in Southern California.
Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers picket outside the Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center on Dec. 12, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMattersTop California Democrats are pressuring Kaiser to make a deal with the union representing Southern California therapists, while patients say they’re just holding on.
“They keep on offering scab therapists,” said Koontz. “It’s the same issue that I had before, but worse now. It feels scummy in a way, because it’s like they are trying to pityTheir predicament reflects the strain on patients and providers as a consequence of the second long-running mental health strike at Kaiser Permanente in the past three years.
The mother of two has worked for Kaiser almost 10 years and worries about her family’s future as the strike drags on. “It’s been difficult, a lot of emotions. How am I gonna make ends meet every week? I have gone to food banks for the first time as an adult. We all went and got a turkey for Thanksgiving to help us get by.”
“I feel like I’m less valued as an employee at Kaiser,” said Jade Rosado, a Kaiser employee who does not receive a pension. “Especially when you look around and everybody has the pension, everybody from food service workers to janitors. As a mental health care worker, am I less?” But so far, Koontz has simply been relying on happenstance to try and remain mentally stable and positive. “I assure you, if anything goes wrong here, I have no safety net. I’m just doing okay, but that is pure dumb luck.”
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