UCSD Case Managers Win 7.5% Equity Increase and Career Ladder, Continue Fight for Patient Care

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Case managers are Registered Nurses who manage the discharge of patients and their ongoing treatment plans after leaving the hospital. Yet across the state, UC case managers are increasingly dealing with short staffing, high patient loads, burnout, and turnover as they are forced to do more with less.

Last year, UCSD management took away Case Managers' work spaces, leaving many without a desk and some forced to work in common areas that are disruptive. This leads to delays in patient discharges, a heightened risk of HIPAA violations, and potentially serious mistakes in ongoing treatment plans.

UCSD Case Managers organized and launched a campaign to advocate for themselves and their patients.  Over a series of weeks and months, nearly 100% of UCSD Hillcrest Case Managers signed petitions, marched on their managers, turned out to meetings with Hospital Administrators, held a call-in day to the CEO, and more. Finally after rallying in from the Med Center and flyering patients about their concerns, UCSD agreed to implement a 7.5% raise for all UCSD Case Managers and open a Sr. Case Manager title at UCSD.

"After organizing all our colleagues to sign petitions, march in a group to speak with our managers, and turn out to meetings, case managers at UCSD Hillcrest Hospital held a lunchtime rally outside the Medical Center before breaking up into teams and passing out flyers at the entrances to let patients and their family members know about these concerns. After weeks of stonewalling, it wasn't until we took this step that management finally reached out and agreed to talk. Soon after our action, they offered us a 7.5% raise, which will help with staff retention and recruitment but we will continue to advocate for secure workspace for patient care," said Jackie Domingo, a Case Manager at UCSD.

UPTE members are proud to have won a substantial raise, but remain committed to addressing patient safety and privacy concerns. Stay tuned for more actions to support Case Manager's campaign for patient care statewide.

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