California officials gave a nod to Kaiser Permanente’s reputation for efficiency when they recently selected it to help speed vaccine rollout. But a review of worker safety citations shows Kaiser has had its own pandemic troubles, failing to adequately protect its employees early on.
Kaiser Permanente has on multiple occasions failed to provide hospital employees the gear or training needed to protect them from COVID-19, according to 12 citations issued by California’s enforcer of workplace safety laws, Cal/OSHA.
The agency has issued more citations against Kaiser than any other health care employer in California, fining it almost $500,000. In addition, Santa Clara County has separately penalized the hospital for not immediately reporting an outbreak in December.
Kaiser is appealing all 12 of the state’s citations, as well as the county-issued fine.
“It’s misleading to interpret these citations to signal any ongoing serious infractions of current public health guidelines at Kaiser Permanente,” Marc Brown, a Kaiser spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “In fact, these citations stem mainly from allegations much earlier in the pandemic, as health care systems including ours grappled with national shortages and evolving public health guidance.”
—Ana B. Ibarra, CalMatters