For Immediate Release
Post-event materials:
Nurses, Physicians, and front-line County workers are outraged and at a breaking point over chronic turnover, vacancies, and short staffing across county departments severely impacting patient care and worker safety.
San Jose, CA – From hospital janitorial staff, to nurses and physicians, medical assistants, and social service providers from throughout Santa Clara County, dozens of essential county workers led a joint press conference at Valley Medical Center on Wednesday morning. RNPA, VPG, and SEIU 521 members outlined how chronic county staffing hurts workers’ ability to provide quality patient care and services to community residents. Workers pointed to the high levels of vacancies and turnover, driven by substandard pay and the County’s inability to recruit and retain workers. The three unions released the following joint letter directed at County Executive, Jeff Smith.
During the worker press conference at Valley Medical Center, Santa Clara County elected leaders and executives were hosting a ground-breaking ceremony for a new behavioral health facility.
Riko Mendez, SEIU 521 Chief Elected Officer shared the following statement:
“At this moment, the county is hosting a groundbreaking event for a new behavioral health facility. We’re glad that the County wants to expand services, but we know that across the county, there are over 2,000 vacancies in SEIU represented classifications that we cannot recruit for, that we cannot fill, or retain as a county. If we want to have the proper services that our community deserves, we need to fill these positions by paying workers.”
In addition to outlining the challenges facing healthcare workers, SEIU Local 521 points to the rise in vacancies across other key departments. The report is available for download here.
“This crisis is not only impacting workers and departments within our hospitals; the staffing crisis is wide-spread in 9-1-1 Dispatch & Emergency, Social Services, and Behavioral Health,” said Janet Diaz, Patient Business Service Clerk at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center & SEIU 521 Chapter President. “To curb this staffing crisis, it will require significant improvements in pay and working conditions if the county is to attract and retain the frontline workers needed to provide adequate care and service.
Stephen Harris, MD, the chairperson of Valley Physician Group (VPG) representing about 450 physicians, dentists, and podiatrists at VMC agrees that the safety concerns must be addressed expeditiously. “We’ve now seen that staffing shortages are not only potentially dangerous but also a threat to clinical quality,” Harris said. “The County must redouble its efforts to meet the staffing challenges.”
“With over 300 vacant nursing positions in our system, daily short staffing has only exacerbated patients’ frustration due to long wait times and thus, resulting in increased assaults on staff, said Allan Kamara, RNPA President. “Despite being short staffed, nurses are constantly being pulled to do non-nursing jobs, because there are not enough hospital service assistants (HSA), techs, clerical personnel, or protective security officers. It’s time for a change. Santa Clara County must do more to care for their staff who are directly responsible for caring for the entire community!”
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Service Employees International Union, Local 521 represents more than 12,000 public-sector workers across Santa Clara County. Under a Community First vision, we are committed to making sure the needs of our community, and the vital services we provide our community, come first. We believe our communities thrive when residents, leaders, and workers recognize that we are all in this together when it comes to our safety, health, and well-being.
