Unity Health Care faces provider shortages as union talks continue, raising questions about the network’s ability to keep treating vulnerable patients.
Tensions are on the rise again at the largest network of community health-care clinics in D.C., with doctors and direct-care providers questioning the ability of Unity Health Care to continue its mission of treating the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Unity providers and their union say leadership at the nonprofit recentlyterminated more than two dozen medical assistants and support staff, exacerbating burnout among physicians, who can see up to 24 patients a day. About 30 providers have left Unity since the start of the year, they say.
The conditions prompted the union last month to authorize a strike, the final step before union members on the bargaining committee can call for a work stoppage, potentially interrupting care for the 1 in 8 D.C. residents who are Unity patients.
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Unity doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are members of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.