UC medical centers are losing experienced workers. How could that affect your medical care?

Over one in four AFSCME* career patient care workers in the University of California’s medical centers has less than two years of experience¹ at UC and there is high turnover in many of their jobs.

UC patient care workers are committed to providing quality patient care, but UC’s wages are so low compared to other hospitals², many have to go work elsewhere.

Industry research suggests a link between high rates of employee turnover and quality of care, including longer hospital stays, and possible higher rates of mortality.³

According to one study, patients at hospitals with turnover rates greater than 12% spent one more day at the hospital on average than at hospitals with lower employee turnover.³ Some patient care jobs at UC have a turnover rate of over 20%.⁴

Footnotes: 1 - Based on September 2007 employee data for career (not including per diem) employees provided by UC.  2 - UC Med Center wages compared to wages at Kaiser hospitals in the same market. 3 - “The Business Case for Work Force Stability,” VHA Research Series, 2002. (Mortality rates are risk-adjusted and lengths of stay are severity-adjusted).  4 -Turnover based on calculation of  the separation rate for calendar year 2006 from employee data provided by UC.