ARCHIVE ART – Kaiser San Leandro
SAN LEANDRO, California. – A review of the state’s workplace records shows that Kaiser Permanente hospitals comprise 10% of all Cal-OSHA coronavirus violations across California and that their location in San Leandro was hit with heavy fines last week, found a KTVU analysis.
Since the outbreak in mid-March, Cal-OSHA has fined 110 companies for breaches of COVID. Kaiser comprises 11 of these companies for a total of 47 violations; 25 of them serious.
San Leandro Kaiser struck with new fines; KP comprises 10% of California’s COVID quotes
A review of state workplace records shows that Kaiser Permanente hospitals comprise 10% of all Cal-OSHA coronavirus violations across California
In terms of penalties, Kaiser’s quotes totaled $ 454,420 from a grand sum of $ 2.3 million since mid-March.
A review of the records shows that Kaiser Permanente hospitals in San Jose, Antioch, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Oakland, Redwood City and locations in Southern California were also cited.
Among Kaiser’s newest violations: Cal-OSHA fined Kaiser San Leandro $ 87,500 on January 4.
State investigators found that the Kaiser San Leandro team did not fill out appropriate forms for work-related illnesses; maintain an effective respiratory protection program; and notifying employees who have had “significant exposures” to COVID-19 cases from May to August.
Cal-OSHA also found that Kaiser San Leandro did not provide the necessary training for employees for aerosols of communicable pathogens and did not immediately report the serious illness suffered by an employee who was hospitalized with COVID-19. Cal-OSHA noted that this was a repeated violation.
In addition, Cal-OSHA said that San Leandro Kaiser did not provide employees with post-exposure medical services.
In response to questions from KTVU on Thursday, Kaiser said he is appealing to all quotes and “as such, should not be considered final determinations”.
To be fair, Kaiser is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare plans in the United States, but it also faced a number of penalties from Cal-OSHA, the state agency in charge of safety at work.
Kaiser noted that its size is probably related to the number of citations it faces.
“Kaiser Permanente not only has a significant number of major hospitals in California,” according to a previous statement, “we were also the first to treat patients with COVID-19 – something we are extremely proud of, but which has also provided high visibility for those efforts. ”
Kaiser said the quotes stem mainly from allegations at the beginning of the pandemic, “while health systems, including ours, struggled against national shortages and evolving public health guidelines.”
In several cases, Kaiser said that these complaints do not align with Cal / OSHA, CDC or other state or local public health guidelines in effect at the time.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our people have done everything possible to ensure that Kaiser Permanente facilities remain safe places to work and receive high quality care,” said Kaiser.
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Kaiser also noted that at the beginning of the pandemic, some advocacy groups undertook efforts to file complaints about Cal-OSHA as part of their campaign to advocate for the change in regulatory policy then in effect.
“We understand that, but it does not detract from the great work that has been done to care for our patients, keep our staff safe and comply with federal, state and local public health guidelines in previous circumstances,” said Kaiser.
Kaiser is often credited for his strong emphasis on preventive care and a holistic approach to medicine.
But at the same time, Kaiser has had disputes with its employees’ unions, and has repeatedly faced civil and criminal charges for falsifying records and evicting patients and forced to defend its actions by regulators over the quality of care provided, especially for patients with mental health problems.
Even though the San Leandro quote is the most recent Kaiser cited by Cal-OSHA, the most widely reported coronavirus case, however, was at the Kaiser in San Jose.
That’s when a well-meaning employee, who unwittingly had coronavirus, dressed up as an inflatable tree on Christmas Day and possibly caused an over-spreading event.
As of this week, nearly 100 employees and patients have officially tested positive that day, and a member of the Kaiser team has passed away, according to the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health. The number of positive cases is probably even greater than that.
State and municipal investigators are now trying to trace the source of this outbreak. Santa Clara County is fining Kaiser San Jose $ 43,000 for failing to report the outbreak in a timely manner to the health department.
But a month before Christmas Day, Cal-OSHA fined the same San Jose Kaiser $ 87,350 for violations that occurred shortly after the outbreak, including failure to report cases in a timely manner and failing to provide adequate equipment to employees.
Kaiser also did not tell patients about the outbreak, according to several who contacted KTVU, despite the hospital’s public assurances that it did.
For example, Jori Buriani told KTVU that while she was in the emergency room on Christmas day to treat a dislocated shoulder, Kaiser never notified her of the outbreak. Since then, she and her husband have tested positive for the virus.
“Yes, I am furious to hear about my exposure by watching the news,” Buriani told KTVU in an interview over the weekend. “Don’t say you did something you didn’t do to protect yourself.”
Here is the list of Cal-OSHA quotes against Kaiser in California regarding coronavirus and workplace safety:
- Kaiser San Leandro $ 87,500
- Kaiser San Jose $ 87,375
- Kaiser Oakland $ 78,300
- Kaiser Antioch $ 56,000
- Kaiser Santa Rosa $ 55,350
- Kaiser Redwood City $ 39,685
- Kaiser Ontario $ 18,075
- Kaiser San Francisco $ 16,400
- Kaiser Santa Clara $ 11,200
- Kaiser Lancaster $ 5,000
- Kaiser Zion in San Diego $ 1,535
Source: Cal-OSHA
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Send an email to Lisa at [email protected] or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez