COLORADO SPRINGS — Medical providers at Peak Vista Community Health Centers have decided to unionize. What does this mean for doctors and patients at Peak Vista?
More than 90 medical providers at Peak Vista will become a part of The Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), which is the largest union for licensed doctors in the country.
Andrew Guttman is a representative with the UAPD union. He said only medical providers at Peak Vista are a part of the union, and this does not include other providers such as behavioral health or dentists.
“Medical providers at Peak Vista voted by 77% in favor of unionization,” said Guttman.
The push to unionize comes after several Peak Vista providers said they felt the company's new policies did not align with proper patient care.
“Peak Vista has implemented procedures at their clinics that really impact the provider's ability to care effectively for the patients that they see,” said Guttman.
Peak Vista gives health care to thousands of low-income and uninsured families in southern Colorado. According to a former employee, providers were forced to increase the number of patients they saw each day and limit time with each patient.
“They (providers) have tried to bring up these issues with management repeatedly in the past and have mostly been ignored,” said Guttman.
He said last summer, several medical providers reached out to the union for help. As News5 has reported, five doctors were then fired from Peak Vista in July and August.
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“Each of them had been vocally advocating for better procedures to make sure that patients could be cared for properly,” said Guttman.
Months later, The National Labor Relations Board ruled in December that Peak Vista illegally fired those five physicians for their support of joining the union.
“Several of the providers have found other jobs, several of them are still searching,” said Guttman.
He said that won’t be able to happen again because they are now part of the union.
“Any medical provider at Peak Vista now has the right to request union representation at any disciplinary meeting,” said Guttman.
He said unionization will insure job security for Peak Vista doctors and improve patient care.
“It ensures that the people providing them care are doing so under reasonable conditions, that they're not burned out, that they're not forced to see too many patients a day, such that they're not able to reform at the standards that they expect of themselves,” said Guttman.
The President & CEO of Peak Vista Community Health Centers, Dr. Emily Ptaszek, provided News5 with the following statement:
“Yesterday, Peak Vista received tentative results of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union election that followed a petition filed by the Union of Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) to represent our medical providers. The official outcome of the election is not yet certified by the NLRB. This process usually takes about seven (7) business days. Based on the tentative results, it appears that the majority of providers who participated in the election voted in favor of unionization.
While we respect the rights of our employees under the National Labor Relations Act, Peak Vista believes the NLRB Office in Denver made erroneous conclusions about who should be able to vote in this election. Our position remains that we believe all providers should have a say on the important question of whether to unionize as it impacts the entire environment of care. And as such, there is a process to appeal the decision, and Peak Vista intends to do so.
As we work through ongoing issues surrounding this election, our primary focus will continue to be strengthening the relationship with our providers. We are committed to ensuring we come out of this process stronger as an organization to best fulfill our mission and the needs of the patients we serve.”
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