Employees protest layoffs, accuse UCSD Health of prioritizing ‘executive paychecks’ over health
Protesters picket at the UCSD Healthcare La Jolla Campus on Thursday Photo by James Miller Times of San Diego Around healthcare workers members of their families and union organizers picketed and held a press conference at the UCSD Fitness campus in La Jolla Thursday Speakers criticized UCSD Physical condition executives demanding they rescind the June layoff of more than employees including registered nurses According to emcee Michael Kennedy the chief nurse representative at UCSD Healthcare for the California Nurses Association layoffs cannot be blamed on budget constraints because UCSD Physical condition has spent nearly million on hospital acquisitions and expansions since Of the plus employees in the UCSD Medical system more than are nurses according to the union In a announcement UCSD Strength commented the decision to lay off club members came after a review focused on safety and operational sustainability and was very complex We did not arrive at that decision lightly or briskly the announcement says Kennedy and other speakers expressed their anger at UCSD Medical executives salary increases We will not stand by while UCSD gambles with population wellbeing to protect executive paychecks Kennedy explained Michael Kennedy speaking Thursday at a press conference in promotion of healthcare employees lately laid off by UCSD Robustness Photo by James Miller Times of San Diego UC System President Michael Drake communicated June that all UC faculty and staff who are not union members would receive the salary increase According to constituents payroll input UCSD Physical condition CEO Patty Maysent received more than million dollars in compensation in The employees who were laid off had an average salary of according to Candy Stangler a former nursing assistant who worked in a postpartum unit Stangler is pregnant and disclosed she located out she was laid off during her third trimester appointment Two days later she no longer had insurance I m now due in days and I don t know how I m going to pay for the birth of my baby Stangler explained Nurse Tiffany Duong stated she was speaking on behalf of nurses at UCSD Soundness s Hillcrest location who work with patients undergoing surgery According to Duong these nurses workload has at least doubled since all of Hillcrest s nurse navigators were laid off She reported nurse navigators are responsible for calling patients preparing them for surgery and explaining medications Without them Duong revealed it has taken longer getting patients into surgery That process should not be rushed Duong announced There s a substantial danger for error and a promising for subject harm
