Kaiser Mental Health Staff More Diverse Than National Average

BAY AREA — In response to a strike held by Kaiser mental health workers in Oakland Monday to demand better care for communities of color, Kaiser issued a statement that 37 percent of its mental health staff is diverse, and 8 percent of its therapists are Black, compared to a national average of 3 percent, according to the American Psychological Association.

"While we are pleased that our percentages are higher than the national average, we're committed to advancing diversity at every level of the organization and know we can do more," Kaiser said.

Employees who were picketing at Kaiser's Oakland hospital also took issue with a miscommunication that caused some workers at one local office to believe they would have a paid day off for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Kaiser said. Kaiser apologized for the mix-up and said the day would be a scheduled paid holiday starting in 2023 across its organization in eight states and the District of Columbia.

The strike included nearly 200 Kaiser mental health clinicians, including psychologists, social workers, addiction counselors and marriage and family therapists, from Oakland and Richmond.

"Kaiser treats mental health care as separate and unequal to its medical care," said Sabrina Chaumette, a social worker, who is one of only five Black mental health clinicians providing care to adult Kaiser patients in Oakland, in a statement. "I appreciate that my clinic asks patients if they want to work with therapists who can provide culturally responsive care, but at Kaiser we just don't have the numbers to do it. Because we're so understaffed, my next available intake appointment is in four months," Chaumette said.

Copyright © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.