Ventura (Calif.) County Medical Center, an integrated health system, and Santa Paula (Calif.) Hospital, a 49-bed campus of VCMC, canceled 20 elective surgeries Monday, including orthopedic and urology procedures, due to a spike in workers calling in sick, according to a Ventura County Star report.
Ventura County runs both hospitals. County officials told the publication the 11 surgical technicians that reported sickness were back at their jobs the next day. This prompted suspicion the sick calls were been a planned "sick-out" by the Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents hundreds of workers at the hospitals, the report states.
Ventura County Human Resources Director Shawn Atin told the Ventura County Star the county was looking into possibly filing an unfair labor practice charge with the state as the issue, if premeditated by employees, could be considered an unauthorized work stoppage. But the union denied the assertion to the publication, saying in a statement the action "was not sanctioned by our union."
The hospitals' CEO, Kim Milstien, said the facilities were working to reschedule the canceled surgeries.