THIS THURSDAY – FACEBOOK LIVE: Our Pathway to Lifting Stay-at-Home Orders

The conflict over stay-at-home orders is heating up across the country — and as healthcare workers we have a huge stake in ensuring that our state and nation reopen under a timetable and plan that minimize infections and deaths.

Join our Facebook Live session this Thursday, April 23 as we explore the pathway to lifting stay-at-home orders safely and smartly to protect us, our families, our patients, and our communities.

ALERT: Deadlines EXTENDED for Continuing Education Units

Due to the pandemic, many healthcare workers are now permitted to delay earning our Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if our licenses expire between March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020 (see list of eligible job classes below). CEUs for these workers now must be completed by September 30, 2020 (unless the DCA Director extends the waiver timeline). Licensees are still required to renew our licenses, but we will automatically be granted the extension by indicating that we have not completed our CEUs and paying our renewal fee.

The job classifications eligible for this CEU extension include Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) and Associates (ASW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) and Associates (AMFT), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs), Pharmacy Technicians, Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Psychiatric Technicians (PTs), Registered Nurses, and Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCPs).

Click here to apply online for this license renewal waiver. 

Click here to learn more about this CEU deadline extension.

HOUSING ALERTS

ATTENTION KAISER MEMBERS — Temporary Housing Available

We’ve negotiated with Kaiser Permanente to secure hotel lodging for employees working at least 20 hours per week (including per diems) who have been exposed to COVID-19 or who are working long shifts. Click here to learn more about this benefit and how to apply.

ALL HEALTHCARE WORKERS — Hotel Lodging Available

The state has improved its program for providing healthcare workers no-cost and low-cost hotel rooms during this pandemic. It is now easier for us to document that we qualify for this lodging.

Click here to learn more about this program.

Click here for the letter template that your hospital administrators can use to quickly verify that you qualify for hotel lodging due to potential exposure.

Check out our resources page for all the support available to us as SEIU-UHW members — including our new Airbnb partnership for no-cost lodging, other temporary housing, childcare, financial support, testing locations, safety protocols, and lots more.

EVS WORKERS FIGHT FOR SAFETY STANDARDS

We are Environmental Services (EVS) workers — and we are the largest job classification in our union. We play a critical role in infection control, yet often we’re not treated with the same respect as other healthcare workers. So we’ve come together across the state to stand up for safety during this crisis.

Here’s an update from two of our fellow EVS members:

“We formed the SEIU-UHW EVS Committee because EVS workers are not being treated equally during this COVID-19 crisis. We clean rooms that have (or had) infected patients, yet we are not considered frontline staff so we are not given the same PPE as other workers. Last week we had a call with 83 EVS workers and since then we have been meeting with management in our hospitals about a number of issues to make sure there are standards and they are being followed everywhere. All of us need to speak up and stand up for what is right for our patients and ourselves.”
Irene Gourdine, SEIU-UHW Executive Committee Member and EVS worker at Dignity Methodist Hospital of Sacramento

“Last night a group of Kaiser EVS workers got on a Zoom call with Greg Adams — the CEO of Kaiser Permanente — to talk about the safety problems we face as EVS workers right now with this COVID-19 crisis. I’ve been working in EVS for 36 years and I’ve never heard of the CEO of ANY hospital having a meeting with EVS workers. I think all of us on the call felt good about the way he was paying attention to our concerns. He told us that every concern we raised should be addressed, and he asked for a follow-up call so we can report to him if we see improvements or not.”
Darren “Tree” Wallace, SEIU-UHW Executive Committee Member and EVS worker at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center