SAN DIEGO — Kaiser Permanente opened a brand new hospital in San Marcos Wednesday, despite concerns from local nurses about staffing shortages at their two other medical facilities.
"We've been addressing this for the longest time. It's been an ongoing issue for a couple years now," said Jessica Gutsche, a union officer for United Nurses Associations of California (UNAC). "Staffing both medical centers for Zion and San Diego Medical Center (SDMC) has been a huge issue. We can't even staff those properly in order to provide that safe patent care we need."
"A lot of the nurses are having to work overtime, and it's causing a lot of burnout, which is not helping the staffing crisis," she added.
Gutsche is a nurse who works in the Post-Partum Mother Baby Unit at SDMC. She is in the process of being transferred to Kaiser's new facility in San Marcos.
According to Kaiser, the 433,000 square foot campus took three years to build. It features a 24-hour emergency department with 39 private treatment areas, capacity for 206 single interactive patient rooms, and several new state-of-the-art technologies.
Gutsche said Kaiser spent a lot of time recruiting for the new facility. She said it should put that same effort into filling all of the open nursing positions at its other two campuses.
According to the United Nurses Associations of California, since October of 2021, on average between Zion and SDMC there have been 180 open nursing positions.
Gutsche said nurses have gone to management about their concerns, but nothing has been done.
Kaiser disputes UNAC's claims of staffing shortages.
A spokesperson for Kaiser released the following statement:
At Kaiser Permanente, patient safety and providing high-quality care are our top priorities. Our staffing approach reflects our shared commitment to ensure every Kaiser Permanente patient receives extraordinary care, every time and in every place.
All Kaiser Permanente medical centers in San Diego – including Zion, San Diego, and San Marcos are fully staffed and meet or exceed California state mandated nurse staffing ratios. Our new San Marcos Medical Center created more than 1,000 permanent positions which were fulfilled via an extensive 6-month recruitment process.
The safety of our health care employees is also a top priority, and we are continuously investing in our nurses to ensure they receive the most up to date training and development, have the latest tools and protective equipment, and most innovative technology, along with competitive compensation and benefits. As a result, our attrition rate is significantly lower than the industry benchmark. We are proud Kaiser Permanente has one of the lowest turnover rates for nurses in health care.