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Labor discussions between a Santa Monica convalescent home and a union appear close to reaching a conclusion, representatives from both parties said Friday.
But with negotiations now in their fifth week, relatives of residents at the Oceanview Convalescent Hospital are growing frustrated.
They say the quality of care at the hospital, located at 1340 15th St., will continue to suffer as long as workers make low wages.
“Staff workers at Oceanview lack honesty and compassion,” said Lorraine Parnes, whose husband Kenneth is a resident at Oceanview.
Jon Barton, organizing director for the Service Employees International Union Local 434B, which represents long-term healthcare workers, said the two parties have been meeting once a week since mid-March.
“I think we’re getting to a point where we’re wrapping up and we may be able to (make an announcement) mid-next week,” he said.
The hospital has been targeted by the union for abusing patients and paying low wages to workers.
Dan Durazo, a spokesman for Golden State Health Centers, the hospital’s parent company, also said the two groups expect a resolution shortly.
“Union discussions often take this long and much longer,” he said.
Neither side would comment on the character of the discussions thus far.
The discussions began last month after a clergy-sponsored group threatened to hold a vigil in front of the hospital.
Members of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice said they called the vigil because they were worried about the quality of assisted living at the 150-resident home and the subpar wages paid to workers.
“Ultimately it comes back to the patient,” Rev. William Jarvis Johnson said last month. “We believe that if workers are treated fairly, then the patients will get better care.”
The vigil was canceled at the last minute when the company agreed to talk to the union.
In a press release sent out before the vigil was called off, CLUE publicized Oceanview’s history of “patient care deficiencies.” On Feb. 27, Oceanview was fined $12,000 by the L.A. County Department of Health Services for negligence and abuse of a resident, the press release said.
Golden State Health Centers spokesman Dan Durazo acknowledged there had been a recent incident but said patients at Oceanview receive the best care possible.
In January, a certified nursing assistant “willfully disregarded” instructions to use a hoyer lift to transfer a patient, he said. The patient was injured, but received immediate medical care and the nurse was fired, Durazo said.
Oceanview is appealing the citation filed by the Department of Health Services in relation to the mishap, Durazo said.
A Department of Health Services spokeswoman said she could not comment Tuesday on specific citations, but confirmed Oceanview has received complaints.
She also said the agency investigated the site and issued citations for violations of state code but that all complaints had been corrected and no issues were currently outstanding.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 21, 2003. Read the original PDF.