More than 300 Kaiser mental health workers have been on strike since Oct. 21, demanding better pay and more time for patient care. The strike has left some patients feeling forgotten as they face difficulties accessing the mental health services they rely on.
Alana Molino has been a Kaiser patient since 2018. She said it’s frustrating to have to restart therapy with temporary providers.
"It’s hard enough trying to admit that you need therapy," Molino said. "You have to start pretty much from scratch with the new therapist and uncover all the trauma again that you’ve just worked out with someone else."
Savana Pheifer, another Kaiser patient who works as a school mental health caseworker, empathized with the strikers.
"But at the same time it's like, 'what about us?' Like we got forgotten and left hung out to dry, basically," Pheifer said.
She said before the strike it took about three weeks to get an appointment, but now it’s longer.
"Four months for a … psychiatry appointment is not okay and the psychiatrists aren't even on strike," she said.
A Kaiser spokesperson disputes the four-month wait. They said they’ve been meeting the state guidelines which requires HMO’s to provide a nonurgent mental health appointment within 10 days of the request.
But Pheifer said she’s filed two complaints with Kaiser since the strike began.
"Just trying to get, like, adequate care and treated like a human being and get seen in a timely manner and have some continuity of care," she said.
Christina Jones, another Kaiser patient who works as a community organizer, said it was tough when the social workers running the outpatient program she, Pheifer and Molina attend, were replaced.
"When they left, the type of care that we received after it was so subpar and raggedy," she said.
Kaiser said temporary staff are qualified providers. But the National Union of Healthcare Workers argued they might not have specialized training.
Kaiser also said crisis clinicians are available 24/7 to all patients with urgent cases. But Jones had a negative experience.
"I let the person know I was having an emergency, and they told me, 'You don’t sound like you are,'" Jones said. "So it’s this whole performance and telling your story to stranger after stranger in this system that says that it cares."
Despite the challenges, the three women said they have found support in each other.
"It's like the glimmer of light in this darkness because there are other people who have mental health issues and we aren't the only ones," she said.
As the strike continues, they are looking at other health insurance options, including paying for therapy out of pocket.
In the interest of disclosure, Kaiser Permanente is a KPBS underwriter.
