Santa Cruz healthcare workers picket outside of Dominican Hospital

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV)- Healthcare workers at 26 Dignity Health facilities—including Dominican Hospital—will be protesting and picketing Tuesday, March 21 at noon.

Dignity Health workers say they are understaffed in every department, which is putting both patients and caregivers at risk.

“We are so short-staffed, we only have time to see the sickest of the sick,” said Andrea Tuma, a respiratory therapist at Dignity’s Mercy Medical Center in Redding. “Those with chronic, non-urgent needs have to wait, usually until those needs become urgent. We end the day feeling like we didn’t do enough when we did everything we could.”

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West represents 18,000 Dignity Health workers statewide.