This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA.
In yet another act of cruelty towards Highland Hospital workers and patients, Alameda Health System executives have decided to end weekend cafeteria service at the hospital. The recent layoffs have left hospital workers understaffed and overworked, coming in for up to 16-hour overtime shifts. Patients’ families in the ER are waiting for days for their loved ones to get beds assigned in the hospital. The cafeteria allows workers and families a moment to care for themselves, to get a hot meal and to feel like a human again in the stressful hospital environment.
Now, when a family member has been holding vigil at their loved one’s bedside for days, nurses can’t gently encourage them to go to the cafeteria and get a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Instead, we’ll be directing them to vending machines or the gas station at the bottom of the hill.
At least management won’t go hungry since they’re conveniently here during weekdays when the cafeteria will still be open. But for hospital workers who don’t have the luxury of avoiding weekend work, the closed cafeteria is just another insult from bosses who don’t understand how hospitals run.
Click here to read the article printed in the 02-04-26 Healthcare Newsletter
