PORTLAND, Ore. — Kaiser Permanente said it has postponed some "non-urgent and elective surgeries" through Friday in the midst of a three-day strike by 75,000 workers around the country, including about 4,000 in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The healthcare giant said in a statement that it has blocked out time in the coming weeks to reschedule this week's postponed surgeries.
"Caring for our patients is our highest priority. As a result of the 3-day strike, it's become necessary for us to postpone some non-urgent and elective surgeries that were scheduled for today, tomorrow and Friday to ensure we're able to care for the most critically ill patients with the most urgent need for surgery; we did so in consultation with each patient's physician," Kaiser Permanente said in a statement.
"We've blocked time on our surgical schedules in the coming weeks to get this week's patients rescheduled as quickly as possible. We understand the frustration some of our patients are feeling, and know that even when surgeries may not be defined as medically urgent, they are incredibly important," the statement concludes.
RELATED: Thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers in the Northwest hit the picket lines for national strike
Kaiser employees have said one of the primary reasons for the strike is a shortage of workers, which has caused delays for patients even before the strike.
"When people are trying to make an appointment with their primary care provider and it's four to eight weeks out, we're not doing a service to our members," Keven Dardon, a Kaiser employee, told KGW on Wednesday.
It's a common complaint by Kaiser employees in the six states participating in the strike.
Brittany Everedge, a ward clerk transcriber in the maternal child health department at a Kaiser medical center in Los Angeles told the Associated Press that staffing shortages have resulted in pregnant people in active labor having to wait for hours to be checked in. At other times, too few transcribers have led to delays in creating and updating charts for new babies.
“We don’t ever want to be in a situation where the nurses have to do our job,” she said.
Union members are also asking for better pay and more job protections.
