Wait Times Soar as County Supervisors Ignore Staffing Shortages Amidst Local Health Emergency Announcement
WHAT: Valley Medical Center employees represented by SEIU Local 521 including Emergency Room Techs, Janitors, Patient Transporters, Hospital Services Assistants, Health Service Representatives and Medical Unit Clerks will hold a press conference to underscore the staffing shortages contributing to increased wait times at Emergency Rooms at VMC and neighboring county hospitals.
WHY: Eight months after the expiration of the labor agreement between the County and the union representing the majority of its workers, frontline employees at county hospitals are expressing deep concerns with the continuous increase of wait times impacting patients in the Emergency Room. Rather than tackling the patient health risk head on and reaching an agreement that concentrates on increased staffing, recruitment and retention, the County’s bargaining team continues to delay a possible settlement and put more residents at risk. Action by the Board of Supervisors is needed to get the key issues addressed.
“Patients and their families are concerned, anxious, and feel neglected,” said Ruth Compus, a Medical Unit Clerk in ER at VMC. “Having to wait in the ER for over 16 to 18 hours before being able to transfer to any unit including ICU is unacceptable. Most times this does not include the hours they wait for the physician examination. I feel helpless and discouraged for not being able to provide the care they need because of shortage of staffing.”
Monique Puga, a Patient Transporter says, “As an ER transporter, I always feel so defeated having to hear stories from patients about how long they have to wait to be transported and knowing that there isn’t much I can do because all throughout the ER we simply do not have enough staff to deal with all of the incidents – it’s negatively affecting patient care.”
WHEN: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 12 p.m.
WHERE: Valley Medical Center Emergency Room Main Entrance, 751 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA 95128
Background:
Long wait times at VMC’s emergency room (ER) are signs of a staffing shortage. Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center has emergency room wait times are well above the state and national average.
[1] Long wait times at the ER are indicators are often signs of staffing shortages.
- A patient at VMC’s emergency room on average has to wait 7 hours before being admitted. The longest wait time of all emergency rooms in Santa Clara County.
- Once admitted, on average a patient has to wait an additional 3 hours and 8 minutes to be taken to a room after being admitted.
- On average, it takes at total of 10 hours and 7 minutes from the time a patient arrives to the emergency room to the time they are in a room.
- A patient at VMC’s emergency room is more likely to leave without being seen than at any other emergency room in Santa Clara County.
[1] All data comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Detailed quality measures at the hospital, state and national level were last updated September 2019. Most data was collected between October 2017 and October 2018. Data on ER-related violations is from January 2015 to June 2019.
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Service Employees International Union, Local 521 represents 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.
