FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AT MULTICARE INDIGO URGENT CARE CLINICS BEGIN PICKETING THIS WEEK

News provided by

Union of American Physicians and Dentists

Aug 14, 2023, 13:00 ET

FEDERAL WAY, Wash., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontline healthcare providers at MultiCare's Indigo Urgent Care Clinics will begin a week of pickets on the morning of Tuesday, August 15, 2023, raising safety concerns about the network's intensifying pressure on doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to spend no more than 15 minutes with each patient.

The pickets will target eight of Indigo's busiest urgent care clinics across the Puget Sound and raise public awareness for what providers are calling unsafe and "assembly line healthcare."

"This kind of health care is not safe for the patients or the providers," explained Dr. Stuart Bussey, a physician in private practice and president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) which represents about 85 Indigo providers.

"This is turning busy clinics into a healthcare sweatshop," he added.

Urgent care clinics are becoming mini "emergency rooms" across the region as wait times at hospital emergency rooms continue to grow. As a result, the type of care patients are seeking at urgent care clinics is growing more complex.

Indigo's providers are expected to evaluate patients too quickly, and it's becoming normal for them to see as many as six or seven patients per hour. That is not enough time to fully evaluate each patient's needs, update their medical history, and perform charting functions before the patients leave.

The demands for speed have caused many providers to quit, creating a 27 percent turnover rate at Indigo Urgent Care within the last 12 months.

MultiCare is a Tacoma-based healthcare non-profit with revenues in excess of $4 billion annually, according to public disclosure documents. In addition to Indigo Urgent Care, the network operates several hospitals, including Tacoma General Hospital.

Providers are currently bargaining for a new contract with MultiCare, and a lack of progress in negotiations may force a strike vote and a work stoppage in the coming weeks.

EVENT TIME: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
DATE: Tuesday, August 15, 2023
LOCATION: MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, 31861 Gateway Blvd. South, Federal Way, WA 98003

EVENT TIME: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
DATE: Tuesday, August 15, 2023
LOCATION: MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, 15125 Meridian Ave. East,Ste. 103, Puyallup, WA 98374

About the Union of American Physicians & Dentists
The Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD) has organized physicians and providers since 1972. With more than 5,000 members in California, New Mexico, and Washington State, UAPD is the largest union of licensed physicians and advanced practice clinicians nationwide. Members work for state and county governments, large healthcare organizations and nonprofit health systems, as well as providers in private practice. Affiliated with AFSCME and AFL-CIO, UAPD brings the strength of the labor movement to the aid of providers in the interest of better medicine for all. Learn more at www.uapd.com.

Contact Information:
Vivi Le
Communications Manager
Union of American Physicians & Dentists
(714) 552-9841
[email protected]

SOURCE Union of American Physicians and Dentists