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| John Nelson, Kaiser's VP of Public Relations |
Today, SEIU-UHW’s Dave
Regan suffered a smackdown that leaves little doubt about who butters his biscuits.
Two months ago, as 3,500 Kaiser employees prepared for a weeklong
strike to protest the understaffing of Kaiser's mental health clinics across
California, Regan took the unprecedented step of teaming
up with John
Nelson (Kaiser Permanente's Vice President of Public Relations and
Communications) to launch a coordinated P.R. attack against the workers.
An article in "Modern Healthcare" featured matching
quotes from Regan and Nelson dismissing clinicians’ claims about the understaffing.
Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers are accusing healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente of understaffing its mental-health services, and they're threatening to strike if their issues aren't resolved… But Dave Regan, president of the SEIU-UHW, which represents 45,000 Kaiser employees across the state, dismissed NUHW's concerns, saying that the staffing problem “was a limited one and is completely solved.” (Modern Healthcare, “Kaiser Mental-Health Staffing under Fire Again,” December 4, 2014)
“Completely solved."
Hmmmm.
This morning, government investigators released a 33-page
report detailing the results of their months-long investigation into Kaiser's
mental health services. They cited Kaiser for multiple violations of state law,
including understaffing its mental health clinics and forcing patients to
endure lengthy, illegal waits for care. Investigators are contemplating
additional fines against Kaiser – that’s on top of the $4 million fine that
Kaiser already paid last September.
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| Dave Regan, SEIU-UHW |
In an article published today by the Los Angeles Times, Shelley
Rouillard (the Director of California’s Department of Managed Health Care) directly refuted Regan's earlier
statement:
For the second time in two years, California regulators have faulted HMO giant Kaiser Permanente for causing mental health patients to endure long delays to get treatment… In Northern California, patients didn’t get initial or follow-up appointments within the required time frame of 10 to 15 business days in 22% of the records reviewed… “That is not a good performance,” Rouillard said. “Fundamentally it comes down to there are not enough providers in the Kaiser system to serve everyone who needs mental health services." (Los Angeles Times, “State again faults Kaiser Permanente for mental health treatment delays,” February 24, 2015)
So… Regan not only pimps for the Boss, he knowingly lies
for the Boss, and gladly throws patients and healthcare workers under the bus.
Hmmm.
If you're a member of SEIU-UHW, wouldn't that make you a bit
nervous?
