MANTECA, Calif — Manteca Mayor Gary Singh voiced his concerns about the Emergency Room wait times at the Kaiser Permanente hospital.
He joined concerned citizens at a news conference and protest over the weekend saying patients are being left in hospital beds and wheelchairs in the hallway of the emergency room when private rooms are no longer available.
“The big wigs at Kaiser don't live in Manteca to see what's going on in this town that started small but is starting to expand and become a big city," said Sharon Washington-Barnes, protest organizer.
Mayor Singh said this is not how treatment should be.
"You shouldn’t have to sit in the ER and suffer for hours and hours,” he said.
At the center of the protest was a demand for better care.
“Manteca’s population has doubled, and the clinic is still the same size,” said Singh.
He said said tents are being used as overflow areas, and it’s time for the hospital to expand.
“I’m looking for real expansion because the waiting times in the ER are, unfortunately, horrendous. I’ve heard from multiple constituents that the services aren’t available there," said Singh. "It’s not necessarily the staff’s fault. It’s just that they are overwhelmed with the amount of people coming in and then they have to be transferred to our neighboring cities such as Modesto and Stockton.”
In a statement to ABC10, Aphriekah Duhaney-West, senior vice president and area manager with Kaiser Permanente Central Valley, said the hospital is proud to be part of Manteca and is committed to meeting their health care needs.
"We will continue to seek out Mayor Singh to ensure he is aware of the ongoing work Kaiser Permanente is doing to expand our high-quality care in Manteca, including planning for an expansion of our Emergency Department," said Duhaney-West.
However, Mayor Singh is ready to see plans move into action. The mayor says he plans to meet with Kaiser officials in the coming days.
“My main concern is when am I going to start seeing some action? I don’t want to just talk about it anymore,” he said.
For the full statement from Duhaney-West, view below.
Our heartfelt sympathies continue to be with the Washington family on the loss of their loved one. When any member of our community suffers, we suffer as well. Recently, an independent arbitrator ruled in favor of Kaiser Permanente on all of the family’s claims, so we are disappointed to hear of a planned press conference with Mayor Singh and the family of Shawn Washington. Kaiser Permanente is proud to be part of Manteca and fully committed to meeting the health care needs of the community today and well into the future. Providing high-quality, affordable care and improving the health of our communities is our mission.
We will continue to seek out Mayor Singh to ensure he is aware of the ongoing work Kaiser Permanente is doing to expand our high-quality care in Manteca, including planning for an expansion of our Emergency Department. We are proud that Kaiser Permanente Manteca and Kaiser Permanente Modesto have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for high performance in cancer, heart failure, COPD, and pneumonia treatment. We have also been recognized by the American Heart Association and Leapfrog for cardiac care and safety, respectively.
Supporting community health
An important part of our mission is to improve the health of the communities we serve. As part of our commitment, in 2022 Kaiser Permanente invested $82 million in Central Valley communities, including charitable care and coverage, medical financial assistance, and grants and donations. Last year, we provided nearly $15 million in grants and donations to community programs addressing local needs such as access to mental health care; safe, stable housing; affordable nutritious food; and college readiness.
Expansion of Kaiser Permanente’s quality care
We are always looking for opportunities to best meet the needs of our members and support our community, while working to keep high quality care affordable and offering our employees an outstanding work environment. Since 2018, Kaiser Permanente has invested over $24 million dollars in ongoing improvements to the Manteca hospital campus. Another $32 million dollars in project work is anticipated through 2025, including site enhancements, equipment replacement, security upgrades, and planning for eventual expansion of the Emergency Department. In our Manteca and Tracy medical offices, we have invested in refurbishing primary care departments and expanded Women’s Health services, Outpatient Physical Therapy, injection services, and Sleep Medicine services. In 2022 we significantly expanded mental health services with the opening of the new Lathrop Behavioral Health Center.
Addressing staffing shortages and burnout
Every health care provider in the nation has been facing staffing shortages and fighting burnout. Across the country and at Kaiser Permanente, people working in health care during the pandemic have faced the toughest challenges that anyone has had to deal with. Physicians, caregivers, hospital and medical office staff – and those who support them and provide critical services for patients – have worked side-by-side through some of the most difficult days of the pandemic to care for one another, our patients, and our communities. We are grateful to our dedicated care teams for the compassion and expert care they provide.
Kaiser Permanente is not immune from these challenges, and we have faced them head-on. From excellent pay and benefits, to tuition assistance and training, from team-based problem solving and innovation to strong workplace safety programs, we have always invested in our people. In fact, in an industry with a turnover rate of over 21%, Kaiser Permanente’s is now less than half of that. Despite the acute shortage of health care workers, we are recruiting and welcoming talented people to join our workforce and to relieve our teams. We are committed to providing a safe, inclusive and equitable environment for our patients, members, employees, physicians, and for the community we serve.
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