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Staff fears cuts at Oakland children’s hospital

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital staff say they’re concerned about the erosion of services for their patients in the East Bay. Wednesday, they picketed outside the hospital.

Hundreds of hospital staffers spent part of their day outside of the hospital wall, picketing on 52nd Street. Protesters brought signs with messages such as “Patients Before Profit” and “Fair Contracts Now.”

The hospital has been in contract negotiations with the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Jackie Schalit is a mental health therapist with an early intervention program at the Oakland location. She says one of the main issues is making sure the hospital keeps care on the east side of the Bay Bridge. Lately, many families are being directed to UCSF’s San Francisco Mission Bay location.

“The hospital keeps telling us that they’re investing in kids of the East Bay, but we don’t see that,” she said.

Schalit says staff is also worried about keeping their jobs. She says in 2016 the hospital told her that early childhood mental health and community programs were less important than impatient programs. Since then, positions have been cut.  

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“At the time we were a bustling staff of 40 clinicians and partners. Our program has been cut in half,” she said. “We have 19 staff now in the middle of a mental health crisis. The hospital is not investing in the youngest member of our community.”

She says she can’t even get life-saving services to many of her patients, who range in age from newborn to 7 years old.

“I had a kid the other day that I tried to refer to OT for feeding issues, that she was aspirating, it takes three months to get into our OT,” she said.

There is fear of further cutbacks after the president and CEO of UCSF Health sent a warning that UCSF is projecting a $200 million budget shortfall in 2023, and they must operate more efficiently. But the staff says they’re going to continue to push for what’s best for their patients.