Our first Open House in 2020 was postponed due to the pandemic but now we are back in-person! Please join us in celebration of our Antioch support center:

• Meet our new Board President Donald Duggan

• Hear from cancer patients and caregivers who have benefited from our programs

• Meet staff, board members, and community members

• Enjoy healthy appetizers and refreshments from Chef Chandra

• Door prizes

Thursday, April 27, drop by between 3-6 PM

3505 Lone Tree Way, Suite 3, Antioch, CA 94509

Please RSVP to Libby Eppinga at leppinga@cancersupport.net or 925.953.1216.

Cal Hospital Compare Patient Safety Honor Roll for 2023 recognizes hospitals with a strong culture of safety

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center is named to the Cal Hospital Compare 2023 Patient Safety Honor Roll for providing patients with safe care across dozens of measures.

The honor roll recognizes 82 of the state’s 347 adult, acute care hospitals. Kaiser Permanente Northern California had 14 hospitals on the honor roll – representing 17% of the hospitals recognized.

The Patient Safety Honor Roll uses objective, publicly available patient safety measures to evaluate hospitals across a variety of domains including hospital acquired infections, adverse patient safety events, sepsis management, patient experience, and Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.

“We are honored to be recognized as a leader in patient safety,” said Chris Boyd, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Service Area. “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. We are incredibly proud of our physicians, nurses and staff members who make a difference every day.”

Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals are consistently recognized as among the country’s best for outstanding patient safety, positive outcomes, and patient-care experience.

“We are committed to keeping our patients safe from harm, as well as providing outstanding quality and excellent personalized care,” said Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center Physician in Chief Sharon Mowat, MD.

Hospitals on the honor roll had to meet a rigorous threshold of performance by having at least two-thirds of measure results above the 50th percentile and no measure result below the 10th percentile and/or Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade A for the past three reporting periods.

Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area (CSC) and BASS Cancer Center, a division of BASS Medical Group, have partnered to develop an automated patient screening process to identify and refer patients at an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and stress to free mental health services provided by Cancer Support Community.

This new referral process is now integrated into BASS Cancer Center’s electronic medical record system. Patients will automatically be provided information for CSC’s services when they indicate an increased risk of mental and emotional stress related to their cancer diagnosis.

“As many as three out of every four cancer survivors experience symptoms of psychological distress which can negatively impact clinical outcomes and quality of life,” says Rob Tufel, MSW, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Support Community. “Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of patients are referred for support by their medical team. The lack of support is even more pronounced among cancer patients from communities of color and those who have lower incomes as well as older adults.”

CSC Board Member, Patricia Falconer, MBA, notes that “40% of Cancer patients experience financial hardship as a result of their diagnosis. This unique collaboration between CSC and community-based cancer providers is a model of how to increase patients’ access to vital support including financial assistance and navigation.”

This new screening tool was developed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network––an alliance of 32 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care research, and education––and is designed to look for evidence of psychological, social, spiritual, and physical indicators that may interfere with one’s ability to cope effectively with cancer, its physical symptoms, and its treatment.

“As the number of cancer patients continue to increase, it is vital that we offer not only high-quality medical care but also comprehensive support,” explains Inez Wondeh, MPA, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of BASS Medical Group, “It was really important to us to develop a streamlined process to better address our patient’s needs and partnering with Cancer Support Community, who already provides excellent psychosocial services for patients and families at no cost, was a natural fit. This will make an incredible impact for our patients.”

CSC has locations in Antioch and Walnut Creek. To learn more visit cancersupport.net.

By Renée Saldaña, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW)

Starting the week of April 10, healthcare workers at medical facilities across California, including Walnut Creek and Antioch, will hold events to speak out against the dangers of short staffing and the effects on patients and caregivers.

On Tuesday, a protest will be held at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek from 11 am to 1 pm and on Wednesday, another protest will be held at Kaiser Permanent on Sand Creek Road in Antioch, also from 11 am to 1 pm.

“After years of understaffing and dealing with the pandemic, we are stretched thin and burnt out. Healthcare workers are leaving the field, and those of us who have stayed are doing the work of two or three people. We can’t give our patients the care they deserve without enough staff,” said Datosha Williams, a service representative at Kaiser Permanente. “We are calling on Kaiser to do what it takes to hire more caregivers so that we can deliver the best care possible for our patients.”

After three years of the COVID pandemic and chronic understaffing, healthcare workers are calling on management to provide safe staffing levels and additional support. Caregivers say that short-staffed hospitals can lead to long wait times, mistaken diagnoses, and neglect, making it harder to give patients quality care.

Even before the pandemic, California faced a massive shortage of allied healthcare workers to care for its aging population — as many as 65,000 workers annually, according to conservative estimates. The stress and the toil of fighting the pandemic has led many to leave the industry, creating a full-blown healthcare staffing and patient care crisis.

A survey of over 30,000 SEIU-UHW members, Crisis in Care, highlighted the short-staffing crisis in California, with 83% of responding healthcare workers saying their facility is understaffed. At the same time, healthcare corporations are reporting record profits.

After April 3 state order expires

Staff in local skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) will be required to continue wearing masks under a new Contra Costa County health order.

The order, which requires masks to be well-fitted and cover the nose and mouth, will also apply to paramedics, emergency medical technicians, contractors and vendors when they enter these facilities in Contra Costa. The masking order will not apply to SNF patients or visitors seeing their loved ones.

The County’s health order will go into effect on Monday, April 3, immediately after the state’s COVID masking order for healthcare settings expires.

“Requiring staff at SNFs to wear well-fitting masks will help protect their vulnerable elderly patients from being infected with COVID,” said Dr. Ori Tzvieli, the County’s health officer, who is issuing the order. “We know from our experience during the pandemic that the people SNFs serve – seniors with serious underlying health problems – are the ones who are most susceptible to severe outcomes from a COVID infection.”

Since the pandemic began in 2020, 57% of the deaths from COVID in Contra Costa have been among people ages 75 and older.  

There are 30 SNFs in Contra Costa. Skilled nursing facilities provide a higher level of medical care than other long-term care facilities. The order will not apply to assisted living facilities, residential-care facilities or board-and-care homes, although masking is still highly recommended in those settings.  

Hospitals and outpatient healthcare clinics in Contra Costa County will not be subject to the new County order, although local health systems can choose to enforce their own masking policies. Dr. Tzvieli said hospitals have robust infection-control policies and personnel and can determine if and when masking is required.

California’s pandemic-related health emergency ended on Feb. 28. While the state is lifting its masking requirements for healthcare settings on April 3, local health officials can still issue their own masking orders.

Under the County health order, a well-fitted mask is defined as covering the nose and mouth and it’s strongly recommended that SNF personnel use higher-quality masks, such as an N95 or KN95/94, to provide the maximum protection.

County health staff were asked why the order is still necessary when there has been less than a 1% infection rate in the county in the past 60 days and according to a physician at John Muir Medical Center Concord, the latest COVID strain is treated like a bad cold and they no longer hospitalize for it.

UPDATE: According to Contra Costa Health spokesman Will Harper, “The new local order is narrowly focused on skilled nursing facilities and not any other settings. We are focusing on SNFs in this order because they are where we have seen some of the worst impacts of COVID in Contra Costa County, and we are being cautious with removing one of the last major layers of protection in this setting. As we said in the press release, requiring staff in skilled nursing facilities to wear masks will help protect the vulnerable elderly patients they serve.

From March 2020 to August 2022, deaths of residents of skilled nursing facilities accounted for approximately 27% of all deaths from COVID in the County and, looking more broadly, since the start of the pandemic, 57% of the deaths from COVID in Contra Costa have been among people ages 75 and older.”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

 

The Physicians’ and Dentists’ Organization of Contra Costa (PDOCC), a labor union representing more than 240 doctors in Contra Costa County’s public health system, announced a contract agreement with county management. 

The agreement was supported by 90 percent of voting PDOCC members and approved by the County Board Supervisors on Tuesday, May 21. It avoids a historic strike which would have impacted operations throughout the county health system. 

The contract enhances the time doctors have to manage their panels of patients and also makes the compensation package more competitive in the Bay Area market. 

The contract addresses many issues PDOCC members raised in their negotiations. During the negotiations county doctors and dentists pointed to high patient caseloads, insufficient time for administrative tasks, long waits for primary care appointments and specialty referrals, chronic short staffing and high turnover – all of which combine to negatively impact patient care and health impacts. 

“Our new contract advances our goal of improving the ability of Contra Costa County to recruit and retain top medical and dental talent to best serve our communities,” said Dr. David MacDonald, PDOCC President. “We will continue advocating for the patient care issues we called attention to in our negotiations, but we are optimistic about our progress and path forward.” 

 

Recognition honors organizations that demonstrate business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Kaiser Permanente is again one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, according to Ethisphere Institute, an independent group that monitors business ethics.

Companies that receive the World’s Most Ethical Company designation work to improve their communities. They also foster and grow empowered employees while modeling a workplace where ethics and a strong sense of purpose lead the way.

“Kaiser Permanente is committed to improving access to care, having a diverse workforce reflective of our communities, and addressing the inequities, structural racism, and injustices that marginalize our most vulnerable populations,” said Diane Ott, vice president, ethics and compliance for Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California region. “This recognition highlights our on-going efforts to improve the health and well-being of our members, patients, and the communities we serve.”

Some of those efforts in Northern California include:

• Prioritizing communities that have endured decades of underinvestment. Kaiser Permanente is investing in programs that will close the racial wealth gap by creating economic opportunity for underrepresented communities and supporting programs that focus on addressing racism and trauma.  
• In 2022, Kaiser Permanente awarded $1.6 million in grants to 20 Northern California agencies for child and family vaccination outreach in areas with lower vaccination rates and to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine across communities of color. It is part of a larger $12 million investment in vaccine equity the organization has made to date.
• We’ve invested in diverse small businesses and programs that provide quality jobs and prepare young people for college and careers. We also increased our purchase of goods and services from businesses owned by women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups.
• Kaiser Permanente is partnering with homeless service providers, affordable housing organizations, researchers, homeless advocates, and city and county officials, working together to build a more robust and coordinated homeless response system to improve the health of our communities. ​​
• We have invested $30 million through the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Scholars Academy, to expand the pipeline for new, culturally diverse mental health clinicians across California. This includes offering eligible Kaiser Permanente employees the opportunity to pursue masters and doctorate degrees in mental health fields through our own and affiliated degree programs, with a focus on increasing diversity and representation in the mental health workforce. This will help impact communities where demand for services exceeds the availability of highly qualified mental health professionals.

Best-in-class practices

Kaiser Permanente is one of 135 honorees in 19 countries being recognized. In addition, Kaiser Permanente is one of only 2 organizations recognized in the Integrated Healthcare System category for 2023.

Honorees are scored based on an evaluation of their ethics and compliance program, culture of ethics, corporate citizenship and responsibility, governance, and leadership and reputation.

“Ethics matters. Organizations that commit to business integrity through robust programs and practices not only elevate standards and expectations for all, but also have better long-term performance,” said Ethisphere CEO, Erica Salmon Byrne. “We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership. Congratulations to Kaiser Permanente for earning a place in the World’s Most Ethical Companies community.”

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.6 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org.

In the midst of contract negotiations

“a physician vacancy does not mean that there is a clinical vacancy, nor that care is compromised.” – Kim McCarl, CCHS

“A bigger medical and dental staff would help alleviate some of the load that our current employed members are carrying.” – Dr. David MacDonald, President, PDOCC

By Allen D. Payton

Last month the Physicians’ and Dentists Organization of Contra Costa (PDOCC) released data showing a high number of doctor vacancies in Contra Costa County Health Services.

According to a Feb. 16, 2023, PDOCC press release, based on county data, there are currently 83 out of 285 employed positions listed as vacant in Contra Costa Health Services, a 29 percent vacancy rate in the system. That includes 27 vacant positions in family medicine and primary care adult medicine, 5 vacant dentist positions and 5 vacant OB/GYN positions. With 19 vacant psychiatrist positions, only 27 percent of employed psychiatry positions are currently filled. 11 vacant employed positions in the emergency department – half of the department’s employed positions – means the county is unable to safely staff the emergency room.

Since November, 5 emergency department doctors have left county employment. The county interviewed and offered positions to 21 new emergency department applicants, but the offer was declined by every applicant.

The problem is expected to get a lot worse in 2024 when Contra Costa County will need an additional 40 primary care providers to care for 30,000 new Medi-Cal patients being added to the county’s health services due to an agreement between the county and California’s Department of Health Services.

The problem continues to worsen. Contra Costa County Health Services added 12,200 patients in the last two months, while only adding 1 new primary care physician. The result is that the average primary care physician employed by the county now has almost 200 more patients on their panel than at the end of 2022. There are no new primary care physicians anticipated to join county employment before July 2023.

On average, the county has only been able to fill three primary care doctor vacancies annually over the last three years.

In response, CCHS Communications Officer Kim McCarl, said doctor shortages are a nationwide challenge, are not compromising care, and confirmed that negotiations between the union and county “are underway”.

She wrote, “We value the medical staff who work across our department.

Health systems across the country are struggling to recruit and retain medical staff at all levels. Contra Costa Health is no different.

It’s important to note that a physician vacancy does not mean that there is a clinical vacancy, nor that care is compromised. We are confident that the right provider is caring for the right patient in the right way at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and Health Centers every day.

We provide flexibility in work schedule, an emphasis on proactive care, and mission-oriented work that helps us recruit and retain physicians who want to practice in an integrated environment. It’s not uncommon for our physicians to be expert in many areas of clinical medicine which our system values.

We value physicians who embrace our mission and choose to work for Contra Costa Health on a full-time, permanent basis but we also welcome doctors who take a less traditional approach to their careers by working part time or in partnership with other health care entities. These approaches help to alleviate the burnout that has been so costly to hospitals and healthcare systems since the height of the pandemic.

We are proud to be home to one of the most highly rated family medicine training programs in the country. We recruit well-trained physicians who are familiar with our system from each graduating class.

Recruitment and retention of physicians is a top priority at Contra Costa Health. We will continue to explore ways to fill every vacancy across our healthcare system.”

Doctors, Dentists Disagree

That opinion, however, is not shared by the county’s doctors and dentists or by best practice standards for patient care.

The severe shortages most certainly impact patient care, including the time a physician can devote to each patient along with the availability of appointments, according to county doctors.

Contra Costa County’s own policies recommend no more than 1,500 patients to a primary care physician’s panel (the number of patients assigned to a physician). Currently the average panel size for Contra Costa’s employed primary care physicians is 1,879.

“County leaders may be willing to turn a blind eye to severe staffing shortages, but doctors care too much about our patients to let the problem go unaddressed any longer,” said Dr. David MacDonald, PDOCC President. “We hear from patients all the time about how difficult it is for them to schedule appointments in our system. When they finally get an appointment, it is rarely for the amount of time they need because doctors are overstretched and taking on more patients because of all the vacancies. The patients who rely on Contra Costa County Health Services for care should not have to settle for less time and attention than patients in other systems or ones with private healthcare.”

In addition to the primary care vacancies, there are 5 vacant dentist positions and 5 vacant OB/GYN positions. With 19 vacant psychiatrist positions, only 27 percent of employed psychiatry positions are currently filled. 11 vacant employed positions in the emergency department – half of the department’s employed positions – means the county is unable to safely staff the emergency room.

The problem is expected to get exponentially worse in 2024 when Contra Costa County will need an additional 40 primary care providers to care for 30,000 new Medi-Cal patients being added to the county’s health services due to an agreement between the county and California’s Department of Health Services.

PDOCC is calling on county leaders to be proactive by filling the position vacancies which will improve patient care and support county revenues. “It’s hard to believe that Contra Costa County is not working more closely with our union to help it become more attractive and competitive in retaining and recruiting medical and dental talent. I believe the county is moving in the wrong direction and I’m concerned that patients are being put at risk,” MacDonald said.

PDOCC members are currently in negotiations with county management towards a new contract. Issues raised in negotiations by PDOCC members include high patient caseloads, insufficient time for administrative tasks, long waits for primary care appointments and specialty referrals, chronic short staffing and high turnover – all of which combine to negatively impact patient care and health impacts. PDOCC members also state that burnout is at an all-time high.

County Health, PDOCC Respond to Questions

Questions were sent to both McCarl and the union’s spokesman asking if the PDOCC is in the midst of contract negotiations with the county and if so, is this an effort to obtain an increase in compensation for its members.

While McCarl responded, “Yes, negotiations are underway” she did not respond to the additional question about their criticism.

The questions were also sent Tuesday afternoon to PDOCC president, Dr. MacDonald with the .

He responded, “PDOCC is engaged with Contra Costa County in negotiations at the level of state mediation. We have one more session to go.

We are focused on improving patient care and making the workplace in Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) more sustainable.

We have to be able to hire new medical and dental talent, so compensation has to be more market competitive. This would also help with retention. A bigger medical and dental staff would help alleviate some of the load that our current employed members are carrying. The situation at this time is untenable. And, per an agreement between CCHS and the state’s Department of Health Services, CCHS will become the single system to provide care for MediCal patients in the county (aside from small fraction of MediCal patients covered by Kaiser). This will mean for an additional 30,000 new patients into our system as of January 1, 2024. We’re not ready for that. We will need an additional 40 new primary care providers to handle the influx of new patients. The County is nowhere close to hiring that many (I believe the County has 3 new providers scheduled to start after July of this year).

In addition, half of our emergency department employed positions are vacant. This means that the County partially fills the gap with very expensive temp doctors. We think it would be smarter for the County to take the funds doled out to temps and invest that money in committed, dedicated and County career minded docs who will be here for the long term.

Another issue is that our primary care providers need more protected time to manage their patient panels. The in-basket work – lab follow up, med refills, answering patient calls & emails, etc., has been escalating. Our physicians take this work home with them and it takes away time from their families and individual restorative activities.

All of this after the three-year pandemic onslaught has left our physicians and dentists suffering more from burnout than ever before. The County must step up, be proactive, and work with our union on how to achieve meaningful improvements that will enhance patient care and move our system in the right direction.”