“I've been apologizing to people for 20 years, and nothing has improved at Kaiser.”
previously reported that, between June 2021 and May 2022, 377 clinicians based in Northern California left their jobs at Kaiser — more than double the rate of attrition the year before. As a result, Torres said, the few remaining therapists are buckling under the weight of growing caseloads and long hours. He told SFGATE that he feels stretched too thin to provide the care that his adolescent patients truly need.
"It is especially disappointing that NUHW is asking our dedicated and compassionate employees to walk away from their patients when they need us most," she wrote. Nonetheless, she adds that Kaiser is"committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair and equitable agreement" that benefits both therapists and patients.
When Kaiser provided her a referral to the Beacon network, she was provided with a list of 30 therapists. Just one called her back, but said they were unable to see her. In the meantime, her mental health spiraled.In the midst of a mental health crisis in June, she said she called Kaiser and begged to speak to her therapist, or anyone who was available. But the receptionist told her that she’d have to wait until July 18 for her appointment.
“I feel like I need therapy and there's so many people who need it more than I do. And I know that the well is dry there,” she said, through tears.