Kaiser Mental Health Physicians Strike, Demand Culturally Competent Care
On Monday, according to information from the National Union of Healthcare Workers, nearly 200 mental health clinicians from Kaiser Permanente, a major health care company, took to the streets of Oakland, California, with demands for more culturally responsive care for communities of color. The strike was allegedly instigated by misinformation communicated to employees about time off to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“We have acknowledged an earlier miscommunication to some employees at one local department about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, in which well-intentioned but incorrect information was provided in a local department, and it was later corrected. Local leaders have apologized to employees who may have viewed the mistake as in any way conflicting with our deep commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity,” wrote Kaiser Permanente representatives in a written statement.
According to data from Kaiser Permanente, about 37% of the mental health staff in Northern California are culturally diverse professionals, with 8% Black therapists and 28 Black therapists specifically in the Oakland and Richmond region.
Despite these findings, a survey of 1,500 Kaiser employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers showed that 41% of respondents said that patients have found it challenging to access or maintain treatment due to a lack of culturally sensitive providers.
Kaiser Permanente will invest $30 million to build a pipeline for new, culturally diverse mental health professionals across California, and starting in 2023 it will adopt MLK Day as a scheduled, paid holiday across the entire organization.
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