Sacramento nursing home workers move to strike over ‘continued negligence’ with PPE, testing

Employees at Windsor Care Center of Sacramento have authorized a strike because the nursing home’s management has not provided personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing, the union representing said Thursday.

Windsor Sacramento, a 128-bed facility, has not had any reported COVID-19 cases or deaths. But, its employees, represented by SEIU Local 2015, are concerned about a lack of disease-prevention measures and the “continued negligence (of) this employer to address such critical needs in this moment,” said Arnulfo De La Cruz, executive vice president of the union.

The strike authorization does not automatically mean a work stoppage will occur, De La Cruz said. The union, which represents over 400,000 long-term care workers across California, is in the middle of contract negotiations that include demands to improve PPE and testing.

Suzanne Peck, the administrator at Windsor Sacramento, said in a statement that the strike authorization is “unnecessary and totally inappropriate.” The nursing home has followed government guidelines on the pandemic, she said, and has PPE available and will be conducting testing.

Windsor Sacramento has a one-star health inspection rating with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal agency that certifies nursing homes. The report from its most recent health inspection in November last year notes that some staff members were not wearing PPE when entering the room of a resident.

Nursing homes across California have been hotspots for outbreaks. As of Thursday, 44 percent of reported COVID-19 deaths in the state occurred in nursing homes, including in some facilities owned by the Windsor chain that Windsor Sacramento is part of.

Windsor Gardens Convalescent Center of San Diego has had 60 cases among residents, 23 cases among health care workers, and 14 COVID-related deaths among residents, according to data held by the department of public health.

“Each day that I walk into Windsor, I’m putting a lot of people in jeopardy, and (people in management) don’t seem to understand,” said Tamicka Ashley, a certified nursing assistant at the facility She said she’s worried not only for the residents she cares for, but also for her three children, who are eight, four, and three years old.

Ashley said employees have not been tested with the help of the nursing home, but have been told by management that testing will eventually come.

New guidelines on nursing home testing

The California Department of Public Health issued guidance last week recommending nursing homes to regularly test employees even if they have no confirmed cases. Peck said Windsor Sacramento is working with county officials to start testing residents and employees in accordance with the guidance.

Ashley is also concerned about the lack of protective gear. She said management told employees that there are gloves, masks and gowns for them, but they won’t get them until there is an active positive case. The employees, however, “want to have this stuff so we can prevent having positive cases and prevent spreading COVID-19.”

Early this month, KCRA reported that some employees at Windsor Sacramento were suspended after refusing to work unless they received protective gear. SEIU Local 2015 confirmed that some employees were suspended and said it couldn’t share more details due to ongoing contract bargaining. Peck said workers returned to work their next scheduled day.

Peck said in her statement that “sufficient PPE is, and will be, available to facility employees.”

Workers are worried about the cleanliness of the facility as well, Ashley said. “I should not have to provide my own sanitizing wipes and my own bleach wipes to come into the building to clean when that’s what (management is) supposed to provide.”

“It’s up to me not only take care of (the residents) but also protect them,” she said. “When I don’t have back up from my employer, it’s kind of hard and it’s getting very very frustrating.”

This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 3:19 PM.