Kindred Hospital Workers Protest Unfair Labor Practices and Understaffing

Understaffing and Burnout

• 🏥 Sherry Tran, a respiratory therapist at Kindred Hospital in Westminster, describes working 60-70 hours a week due to severe staff shortages and mandatory overtime.
• 🔄 High staff turnover means constant training of new employees, impacting the retention of experienced staff.
• ⚠️ The lack of experienced personnel directly affects patient care, as the hospital serves chronically ill patients requiring significant attention.

Patient Safety Concerns

• 📉 Workers are protesting for a fair contract to ensure patient safety, citing unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios (1:15 to 1:20).
• 🧼 Insufficient staff leads to delays in basic patient care, such as cleaning and repositioning, increasing the risk of pressure wounds.
• 💊 Missed or delayed medication due to understaffing can negatively impact patients' conditions.

Fair Wages and Cost of Living

• 💰 Union representatives state that workers at the location earn approximately $20-$21 per hour, which is insufficient to cover the cost of living in Orange County.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Underpayment makes it difficult for staff to support their families and afford basic necessities, especially in California.
• ⚖️ Workers are demanding a fair contract and competitive pay to attract and retain qualified staff.

Call for Management Action

• 🗣️ Tran urges hospital management, Apollo and Scion, to visit the facility to witness firsthand the exhaustion and challenges faced by staff.
• 🤝 She emphasizes the need for management to understand the compassion and dedication of the staff and the critical nature of the patients they care for.
• ⏳ The protest aims to highlight that patients are waiting hours for care and missing medications due to inadequate staffing levels.