Gabriel San Roman / OC Weekly

Welcoming committee

Therapists stood outside a Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim yesterday and, for once, wanted to tell folks about their problems. They handed out leaflets claiming the health insurance giant is "retaliating against whistleblowers." The latest salvo between clinicians organized by National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and Kaiser management comes at a time when both sides haven't yet reached a contract agreement.

Pickets and leaflets all around California called for the reinstatement of psychologist Dr. Alex Wang, a Bay Area Kaiser clinician who got fired in April. The union claims it came in retaliation for his reporting to state regulators that the HMO failed to provided timely appointment services to mental health patients.

"We shouldn't be understaffed. We shouldn't be able to not provide certain services according to legal and ethical treatment guidelines," Marriage & Family therapist Dan Arvesen told Weekly as he leafleted outside the Kaiser Permanente on Euclid Avenue and Romneya Drive. "Dr. Wang is just an excellent individual example of the retaliatory efforts that Kaiser is engaging in."

Working conditions for mental health clinicians at Kaiser hasn't improved to their liking since the Weekly left the story last. Back in January psychologists, social workers and therapists staged a 5-day strike. The statewide action, including picket lines in OC, was the largest-ever mental health worker strike in the nation.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2015/05/kaiser_mental_health_...