The healthcare sector is currently facing a crisis, and the impending strike involving 75,000 healthcare workers is a clear signal of this problem. Savonnda Blaylock, a pharmacy technician from northern California with 22 years of experience at Kaiser Permanente, may join this strike, marking the largest healthcare strike in the history of the U.S.

Blaylock acknowledges that it won’t be easy to walk away from her job and her regular patients, even though the strike is planned to last only three days. Nevertheless, the staffing challenges she has witnessed at the hospital, both from her perspective as an employee and as a patient, have left her with a sense of having no choice.

The potential strike, organized by a coalition of unions, would impact numerous facilities across several states, including California, Oregon, Colorado,Washington, Virginia, and Washington, DC. This coalition includes a diverse range of healthcare professionals, such as nurses, therapists, technicians, maintenance workers, dietary staff and janitors, all of whom plan to strike for three days. Kaiser Permanente has stated that it has contingency plans in place to continue providing care to patients during the strike.

Kaiser Permanente recognizes the staffing difficulties it faces but disputes claims that it is ignoring demands to address the issue. The company points out that the entire healthcare industry has been dealing with staffing shortages and employee burnout, exacerbated by the Great Resignation of 2021-22, which saw over 5 million healthcare workers leave their jobs nationwide. Approximately two-thirds of healthcare personnel indicate experiencing burnout, and more than one in five choose to leave their positions.

Kaiser claims to have hired 29,000 new staff members in 2022, ending the year with a total of 224,000 non-physician staff members. In the current year, the company has hired  roughly 22,000 more, with almost 10,000 of these being union-represented positions. Kaiser also notes that it pays up to 20% more than competing healthcare systems and expresses confidence in reaching an agreement that ensures high-quality, affordable care while enhancing its position as an attractive workplace.

Despite the increase in healthcare strikes, experts highlight that persuading healthcare workers to engage in a strike can be particularly difficult due to the emotional burden of abandoning patients who require care, including infants, senior citizens, and the ailing. Additionally, it’s stressed that positions beyond nursing, like those in food services and housekeeping, hold crucial responsibilities in patient care.

One notable healthcare strike this year involved 7,000 nurses in New York City in January. Nurses like Naniaka Camara, who participated in the strike, expressed their love for their jobs but went on strike out of frustration over not being able to provide proper care to patients due to staffing shortages.

The difficult work conditions and nursing shortage have led to a surge in strikes and union organizing efforts, with healthcare workers feeling that their employers have not prioritized their safety or the safety of patients, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare system has faced additional pressure due to a growing aging population in the United States and heightened demand for healthcare services.

The scarcity of nursing instructors has compounded the nursing shortage, with over 80,000 qualified applicants being turned away from nursing schools in 2019 due to a lack of teachers. The median age of a registered nurse is 52 years old, with 20% of them being 65 or older.This deficit, in combination with fatigued and overburdened nurses, elevates the probability of medical mistakes.

In conclusion, the looming healthcare strike reflects the mounting challenges and frustrations faced by healthcare workers, with burnout, staffing shortages and patient safety concerns at the forefront. The crisis in the healthcare industry is expected to persist, with a potential shortage of 1 million nurses nationwide by 2025. The strike is seen as a manifestation of the desperation felt by healthcare workers, despite the emotional toll of leaving their patients in need.