美国国家公共电台 NPR--Some 2,000 mental health care clinicians in California are on strike

Some 2,000 mental health care clinicians in California are on strike

Transcript¹

Clinicians say their employer, Kaiser Permanente, is breaking state law by taking too long to connect patients with therapists. They say patients have to wait up to eight weeks to get an appointment.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Almost 2,000 mental health care workers have walked off the job in California. They work for Kaiser Permanente, and they want their employer to hire more people - more psychologists, more social workers. Here's Lesley McClurg of our member station KQED in San Francisco.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Care delayed is care denied.

LESLEY MCCLURG, BYLINE²: Picketers in bright red shirts carry signs that read patient health, not corporate³ wealth. Naomi Johnson is a social worker in the East Bay. She says she's exhausted⁴ and angry.

NAOMI JOHNSON: I feel like every day I have to choose between either taking care of myself or taking care of my patients. And oftentimes what happens is neither of us gets taken care of.

MCCLURG: Johnson says nearly all of the managers in her clinic are leaving because they're burnt out.

JOHNSON: I want to be able to consult and think really deeply about what people need and help them towards their goals. And I can't really do that unless I overextend myself.

MCCLURG: The National Union of Health Care Workers is demanding Kaiser give providers more time to handle follow-up administration for patient visits. But the company says that would mean clinicians see fewer patients. Dr. Sameer Awsare is the director of mental health care at Kaiser.

SAMEER AWSARE: The union is well aware that its decision to strike is intended to hurt Kaiser Permanente's ability to meet the needs of our patients.

MCCLURG: The union says patients often have to wait four to eight weeks to get an appointment at Kaiser. That violates a new California law, which requires follow-up appointments within 10 days. For years, Barbara McDonald has struggled to get her 19-year-old daughter help from Kaiser.

BARBARA MCDONALD: She basically only gets care when she ends up in the ER.

MCCLURG: The teen has a history of cutting herself. She suffers from bipolar disorder⁵, borderline personality disorder and ADHD.

MCDONALD: When she cut her throat in September - she has only seen a Kaiser psychiatrist⁶ two times since September, which is almost a year - two times in one year.

MCCLURG: Kaiser says it's trying to hire more providers, but the entire country is facing a shortage of mental health care workers.

For NPR News, I'm Lesley McClurg in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。