CLEVELAND – Primary care providers at Cleveland’s MetroHealth network are forming a union through AFSCME.
Last week, primary care physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners rallied outside MetroHealth’s Glick Center after hand-delivering a letter to management seeking voluntary recognition of their union.
The providers said they have reached an overwhelming majority in support of forming their union through AFSCME Ohio Council 8. Then they officially filed for recognition of their Primary Care Providers Union (PCPU) with Council 8.
"We are here because primary care works best when it is built on trust," said Dr. David Ritzenthaler, a MetroHealth primary care physician who spoke at the rally. "But too often, decisions about scheduling, staffing, workloads and patient care are being made without enough input from the people that actually provide the care.”
Dr. Vikas Gampa, who practices internal medicine, said providers want to form a union to work to improve patient care.
“We’re working to build a system where patients get timely care, providers have the time to do their jobs safely and well, and our community can rely on MetroHealth,” he said. “My patients with uncontrolled diabetes should be seen every three months. When that reaches six or eight, they may fall through the cracks, be seen by someone new or not seen at all. That gap in care is unacceptable.”
PCPU said in a statement that patient care is delayed and compromised when primary care providers are stretched so thinly that even experienced providers feel burned out. Providers want MetroHealth management to listen to them about what patients need because they provide that care every day.
“When primary care providers have more time with patients, outcomes improve. Satisfaction increases. Patients feel heard. Families feel supported. And our whole community is healthier,” said Heather de la Pena, an advanced practice registered nurse- certified nurse practitioner in family medicine.