Workers at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii’s Urgent Care Center at the Honolulu Clinic are circulating a petition to prevent the closure of the walk-in facility on Pensacola Street.
The petition, signed by more than 60 patients this week at the facility’s check-in counter, implores the state’s largest health maintenance organization to reconsider its "rash decision to decrease available patient care service" when it closes the Urgent Care Center on March 16.
"Oftentimes, there are limited appointments available and the only available option is to seek treatment on a walk-in basis at the Honolulu Urgent Care Clinic," the petition said. "Closing the clinic will result in expensive emergency room visits and a decrease of a cost-effective treatment resource. The closure poses a serious threat to our safety, welfare and continued good patient care."
Kaiser spokeswoman Laura Lott said she hadn’t heard about the petition, but the closure is part of a plan to improve patient care.
"The changes we are making at the Honolulu Clinic will increase access to same-day appointments and improve the quality of care our members receive," she said in an email.
Kaiser announced Friday it is laying off 13 clerical and emergency tech employees when it shutters the walk-in facility. The clinic at the same location, which sees patients by appointment during regular hours, will not be affected.
Kahala Nui resident Richard Rothrock, who signed the petition Wednesday, said in an email that he was disappointed by the imminent closure.
"My wife and I have been to Kaiser’s Urgent Care three times each over the past eight years and we have valued its great care and convenience," he said. "I, for one, would be willing to pay an extra fee for each visit so that Urgent Care could remain open. We aging seniors need that Urgent Care."
The company said on Friday the 30 patients who use the Urgent Care Clinic on an average day will now be seen by primary care doctors in the upstairs clinic as part of a new model of care that will ultimately give members greater access and result in better outcomes.
The company said recently it has streamlined the appointment process for primary care doctors and that this new capacity means "our patients will be seen directly and more conveniently by one of our many physicians."
Kaiser added that patients needing after-hours or emergency services could go to the 24-hour Moanalua Medical Center.
"Things just aren’t adding up. Kaiser is implementing all these cuts affecting workers and the community, (but) at the same time they’re boasting about being able to spend more than $300 million on new facilities," said Cade Watanabe, spokesman for Unite Here Local 5, representing the soon-to-be laid-off workers.
"It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. At the end of the day, the real question is whether they’re going to put people ahead of profit?"
Meanwhile, Kaiser is in workforce negotiations with both Local 5 — representing roughly 1,900 Kaiser employees, including licensed practical nurses, medical assistants and housekeeping staff — and the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association, negotiating on behalf of registered nurses.
In union talks, Kaiser has proposed to eliminate 47 registered nurses in primary care positions at some of its 18 clinics statewide, or nearly one-quarter of its clinic RNs. The company also cut 35 union and management positions in October in an effort to streamline operations.
