UC elective surgeries canceled as strike looms

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—The five largest University of California medical centers have begun canceling elective surgeries because of a two-day strike planned by some workers next week.

Emergency care will continue and patients already in hospitals will receive treatment, the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/YNyKoP) reported Friday. But elective procedures will be delayed until after the strike, set for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The hospitals are in San Diego, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, where the UC Davis Medical Center is located.

The union representing the 13,000 nursing assistants, scanning techs, operating room scrubs and other health care workers said it will keep weekend-level staffing in critical areas such as neonatal and burn units during a walkout. Some strikers will go back to work if medical emergencies arise and return to the picket lines once the patients are treated.

“The most important thing here is that patient safety be preserved,” union spokesman Todd Stenhouse said.

UC officials said they would hire temporary replacement workers during a strike. That could cost at least $15 million in lost revenue and extra pay over two days.

The five medical centers serve about 2,400 inpatients on an average day, as well as outpatients for such treatments as chemotherapy. The number of patients in the hospitals could drop by 25 percent during a strike, said John Stobo, UC’s senior vice president for health sciences and services.

UC officials are seeking an injunction to prevent the strike, scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The two sides are fighting over pensions and staffing levels. UC officials say the union has refused to accept a new pension plan, similar to those of other state workers, which requires more employee contributions and reduces long-term benefits for new hires. The union contends staffing has been reduced to dangerous levels.

[Source]: MercuryNews.com