Workers Say Lax Procedures, Lack of PPE
During Pandemic Puts their Health and Safety at Risk

[May 19, 2020] BURBANK, Calif. – Employees at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center who say management is putting their health and safety at risk because of lax protocols around the treatment of COVID-19 patients, a lack of personal protective equipment and short-staffing will picket the hospital from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, Tuesday, May 19 at the hospital, 501 S. Buena Vista St. in Burbank. The picket will take place on the West Alameda Ave. side of the facility.

“We are very disappointed because Saint Joseph’s says that we are healthcare heroes but treats us like healthcare zeroes,” said Christian Ayon, a surgical tech. “In spite of risking our lives daily to deliver word-class healthcare for our beloved patients, especially during this pandemic, we find ourselves fighting both Covid-19 and the hospital administration.”

Environmental Services housekeepers say they are sent into rooms that housed COVID-19 patients immediately after the patient is moved out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends waiting as long as 24 hours before cleaning a room that housed a COVID-19 patient overnight. The workers also say that too often they are not given the appropriate protective equipment.

WHAT: Informational picket with social distancing at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank to protest problems with lax safety procedures, a lack of PPE and short staffing at the hospital.

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, 501 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, on the West Alameda Ave. side of the facility.

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 SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is one of the largest unions of hospital workers in the United States, with 97,000 members. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.