As you may have seen or read on the news, there was a safety event at the Westside Medical Center. This is frightening both for staff and for our patients, and we strive to ensure that our workplace is a safe place to encourage healing.
With everything going on in the community and in our professions, we wanted to ensure you and our members know what resources are available within Kaiser Permanente and the American Federation of Teachers, Nurses and Health Professionals (AFT).
Additional Resources:
KPLEARN:
- Has Mental Health Training for Employees
- Course ID: IND:MHW EMP
- MH Training Resource List 2021 (kp.org)
Other EAP: kp.org/EAP
- Kaiser has a helpful Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to provide resources to staff in need.
- The temporary 24/7 line for anyone to talk with a licensed counselor (day or night) at 877-801-5751.
- It does get better: How KP employees are managing their mental health, which is accessed on the intranet, is being recorded.
- The number for Northwest EAP is 503-813-4703.
Our other employers also offer some of these types of resources. St. Charles has the Caregiver Assistance Program and PeaceHealth has an EAP around workplace violence and they provide a whole slate of additional EAP resources.
CRISIS TEXT LINE:
https://www.crisistextline.org/
211:
211 is a resource to find out what services and supports are available in your area. Click here to access their website.
You can also call the number 211 from any phone, toll free, to get access to these resources.
Other Community Resources:
We also wanted to inform you of the actions we are taking:
We have called on KP leadership to obtain more information. Workplace leaders will be working on pushing management and organize members to make safety improvements throughout KP.
Oregon's state laws are vague regarding healthcare workers and their safety at best. Currently, the Health Care Safety Act introduced this past year (2021) and is still just sitting on the Senate floor. This is a significant law that can improve our workplace conditions for all health care professionals, regardless of discipline, bargaining unit, or employer.
Click Here to Find Out How You Can Support Healthcare Worker Safety Laws
The Joint Commission issued new standards to focus on workplace violence prevention. Have you seen this implemented at your worksites?
Click Here to Learn More About the Joint Commission
Lastly, we, as a union, are calling on the Oregon Health Authority to do more. We know that this is an issue that the state needs to take on proactively, and that means that they need to find ways to intervene and support our workers.
Click Here to Learn More About the Bill That Could Change This Situation