T he . P orti and O bserver • O ctober 4. 1995
P age B7
Kaiser Defends Hospital Closure
Continued from Metro
▲
the health care needs ofNorth/North-
east Portland
C lo sing Bess Kaiser Medical
Center is the most difficult decision
we've made in our 50 years in the
Northwest region. Faced with one o f
the nation’s most competitive health
care markets, we are losing market
share - our membership has not in
creased for several years
There is currently 50 percent
bed occupancy rate in the Portland
metropolitan area, and a trend to
ward more outpatient services With
hospital use continuing to decline,
and hospital bed availability increas
ing, we decided it is not wise to invest
over $60 m illion in Bess Kaiser
Medical Center or to build another
hospital. Bess Kaiser Medical Cen
ter is an old building, in need of
expensive repairs to house modem
equipment and to meet health, safety
and seismic codes.
F o r m any ye ars, K a is e r
Permanente has contracted with com
munity hospitals for a variety o f ser
vices such as cardiac surgeries. By
expanding our contracts with other
health systems, we w ill provide high
quality services at more locations for
the lowest possible cost to our mem
bers. Rather than duplicate expen
sive resources, we are able to collab
orate with other health systems to
form centers o f excellence and pro
vide the highest quality health care
possible for all our members.
We plan to operate Bess Kaiser
Medical Center as a small, 55-bed
hospital during the phase down peri
od. While this is viable during the
transition period, it cannot be main
tained as a high-quality, cost-effec
tive institution indefinitely.
Even after Bess Kaiser Medical
Center closes, Kaiser Permanente will
have a strong, visible presence in
North/Northeast Portland. O ver
1,000 physicians, dentists and staff
w ill continue to serve our 28,000
North and Northeast Portland mem
bers where they already receives 99
percent o f their care - in our outpa
tient facilities. We w ill remain the
predominant health care provider and
major employer in the community
Urgency care w ill be provided in
North and Northeast Portland until
11 PM seven days a week. Emergen
cy trauma cases w ill still be treated at
the nearest hospital Alternate hospi
tal services for late night and early
morning care are sill under discus
sion for all our members.
We are very concerned about
the 1,300 Bess Kaiser employees
who are being displaced, 300 of
whom live in North and Northeast
Portland. We are hopeful that most
will find new positions through a
variety of actions we are taking:
1. We expect to re-hire many o f
these employees in positions within
Kaiser Permanente
2. Preferential h iring agree
ments, giving our employees priority
over outside applicants and equal
consideration with internal applicants
have been negotiated with our new
alliance hospitals and we expect many
to be hired.
These agreements currently per
tain to all our non-union employees
and our union emoloyees represent
ed by bargain ingun its that have agree
ments with us - U F C W Local 555,
Operating Engineers Local 701, O r
egon Nurses Association and the
G uild for Professional Pharmacists.
A tentative agreement with S E IU
Local 49 is awaiting ratification.
3. We are working with the D is
located Worker Program - state, fed
eral and North and Northeast Port
land employment and job placement
programs includingtheUrban League
o f Portland, Northeast W orkforce
Center, Northeast Jobs Committee
and the Private Industry council - to
develop re-training and jo b place
ment programs
4. While we are hopeful most
Bess Kaiser employees wi 11 find new
jobs, we have developed a severance
package, which goes beyond our
union agreements and includes:
• S ick leave buy out - 50 percent
o f sick leave accrual if placed in a
jo b with an alliance hospital; or
100 percent if laid off.
• Severance pay - a single cash
payment equal to one week’s pay
for each year o f service, to a m ax
imum o f 15 weeks pay if laid-off.
• Medical and dental benefits -
continuation o f current coverage
for up to six months.
Again, thank you for your letter.
Kaiser Permanente values its 50-year
history with the African American
community in North and Northeast
Portland. Weare committed to forging
ahead with a continued and renewed
working relationship. We look for
ward to strengthening our partnership
and seizing this opportunity to collab
orate on a wide-range of needs in
North and Northeast Portland.
Sincerely, Michael U. Hatcher,
president.
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