L.A. Healthcare Partnership Townhall Showcases Results

On August 31st, SEIU 721 partnered with L.A. County to host the second countywide Los Angeles Health Agency Town Hall with the newly created Los Angeles Health Partnership.

The L.A. Health Partnership brings together L.A. County’s newly integrated health agencies, doctors, interns, residents and employee organizations to develop a plan for transforming healthcare in L.A. County.

I was very skeptical at first. We are a labor organization. “Kicking ass for the working class” is in our blood. But so far, the partnership is helping us reach our goal of becoming the provider of choice in L.A. County. Here’s how and why:

Listening to the front lines: Frontline workers understand their communities and the patients they serve and are prepared to offer common-sense strategies to improve care. So far, the partners are listening to the frontlines.

Commitment to training: Already, our labor-management working groups have ensured that 10,000 L.A. County workers participate in a customer service training model that puts both management and frontline workers in the same room, receiving coaching on how best to communicate with each other and provide quality care to patients.

Anti-Bullying: L.A. County healthcare workers identified workplace bullying as a major impediment to quality care. So far, the Partnership has embraced SEIU 721’s anti-bullying campaign and helped to discipline, counsel and, in several cases, remove bullying elements at LADPH worksites.

Our union is still bargaining and enforcing contracts, handling grievances, and hitting the streets when we need to defend our rights, but we’re also leading the way in developing partnerships with agency management when it benefits our members and the patients they serve.

Bob Schoonover, President