After holding a public meeting to hear from employees, a union-based “workers rights board” has asked the administration of Marin General Hospital to respond to a range of complaints from hospital workers.

The North Bay Workers Rights Board heard testimony from 10 hospital employees at a May 6 forum in Terra Linda and sent a letter containing its preliminary findings to Marin General CEO Lee Domanico, asking him to respond prior to issuing its final report.

One of the board’s findings was “a pattern of understaffing at Marin General Hospital which is the result of cost saving practices and worker turnover due to worker dissatisfaction.”

“A team is reviewing that document now,” Marin General spokeswoman Jamie Maites wrote in an email Friday, noting that the hospital has been rated as being among the top hospitals in the nation for patient safety. “It is unfortunate but not uncommon for the union to make false accusations and/or distort facts as we enter contract negotiations.”

The rights board was created by North Bay Jobs with Justice in 2014. North Bay Jobs was founded by 11 unions and six immigrant rights, peace and social justice, civil rights and community organizations.

The board provides a public forum in which workers can bring complaints against employers. Its 26 members include three Marin County representatives: Marin County Supervisor Damon Connolly; Paul da Silva, an environmental science instructor at College of Marin; and the Rev. Lindsey Kerr, pastor at Christ Church United Methodist and First United Methodist Church in San Rafael.

“This is the first time that we have had workers from Marin County request that we hold a hearing and investigate an employer,” said Matt Myres, a retired teacher and school administrator who serves as the board’s chairman.

Connolly said, “At the recent hearing in Terra Linda, we heard important perspectives from workers who have first-hand knowledge of the hospital’s operations. The findings that came out of the hearing are preliminary at this point, and reflect information given to the board through worker testimony. The process is ongoing.”

The board states in its preliminary findings, “There has been a reduction in the staffing of certified nurses assistants which may result in the hospital at times being in violation of the required staffing matrix.”

The board also states that the hospital has reduced the use of monitor technicians during the night shift, requiring nurses to oversee patients using remote monitors while caring for other patients.

David Wallace, a monitor technician who has worked at Marin General for 15 years, stated in his testimony that, “The constant understaffing of certified nursing assistants since Sutter left has caused us to take on additional roles. Now we’re having to answer patient call lights because the nurses and nursing assistants are busy with other patients.”

Barbara Ryan, a Marin General registered nurse who serves as the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United representative, said the nurses signed a new contract in fall 2016 after more than a year of negotiations. Ryan said, however, that the hospital is still not staffed adequately to provide nurses with meal and break relief.

The board states in its findings, “This pattern of understaffing is impacting and threatening the quality of patient care.”

It wrote that “sometimes the hospital does not provide the required ration of one nurse for every four telemetry patients.” Telemetry nurses monitor patients’ vital signs with a life sign-measuring device such as an electrocardiogram.

Two Teamster union representatives also testified at the May 6 hearing. Tim Jenkins, a labor representative and strategic researcher for Teamsters Local 856, stated that the number of deficiencies found at Marin General by the state Department of Public Health has increased significantly since Sutter Health stopped managing the hospital in 2010.

While Sutter was managing Marin General from 2004 to 2010, the hospital was cited for 149 deficiencies; since the hospital reverted to public management in 2011 it has been cited for 307 deficiencies. Each deficiency is a substantiated allegation for a violation of federal and/or state laws or regulations.

From 2011 to 2016, Novato Community Hospital was cited for 119 deficiencies and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael was cited for 23 deficiencies. But the patient census of Marin General is significantly larger than either of those hospitals. In 2016, Marin General had 41,573 patient census days; Kaiser in San Rafael had 15,911 patient days; and Novato Community had 6,114 patient days.

When the Leapfrog Group, an employer-backed nonprofit focused on health care quality, issued its latest scores in April all three hospitals received an A grade, the highest rating given, for patient safety.

Maites noted that Leapfrog designated Marin General as a “Top General Hospital,” putting it in the top 3 percent for quality in the nation.

“Marin General Hospital values its employees and has many processes in place to ensure staffing levels are appropriate, that team members are treated fairly — no matter their position, and above all that the environment we work in is safe not only for ourselves but for our patients,” she said.