[Feb. 8, 2019] OAKLAND, Calif. – Healthcare workers at eight Bay Area medical clinics are concerned whether the facilities will remain open after a recent announcement by the bankrupt owner – Verity Health – that at least 180 employees will be laid off beginning next month.
“This bankruptcy has been stressful for the entire community and now we need Verity Health and any potential buyer to assure the public that the facilities will remain open, continue providing quality patient care and retain highly skilled workers,” said Rena Schwartzberg, a patient service representative at Good Samaritan Clinic in San Jose. “The longer the company goes without providing answers only fuels the community’s fears that patient care will be compromised.”
Verity Health said in a Jan. 25 letter to employees that their positions will be eliminated between March 31 and April 13. A week later, Verity’s Director of Human Resources urged employees to reapply for their positions through the El Camino Healthcare District, hinting that a sale to the Mountain View-based government entity may be imminent.
The clinics, which were previously owned and operated by the San Jose Medical Group, include the following:
The employees, who are members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), plan to air their concerns at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13 during the El Camino Hospital Board of Directors meeting, 2500 Grant Rd., in Mountain View. They will urge the healthcare district – in the case of a sale – to protect their jobs, which include medical assistants, patient service representatives, medical records clerks, radiology technologists and dozens of other positions.
Verity Health filed for bankruptcy in August 2018, and has since announced the sale of two of its hospitals to Santa Clara County and its four remaining hospitals to KPC Group.