The Antelope Valley community has one major option for health care in an urgent situation at Kaiser Permanente (KP): the Antelope Valley Urgent Care. Now, KP wants to drop the higher level of care AV is used to at this urgent care. This means patients who would have been able to be treated and assessed at the Antelope Valley Urgent Care and possibly avoided additional care will need to drive 50 miles to the nearest KP hospital to receive the quality care they expect at KP—or risk KP not paying for emergency care at Antelope Valley Hospital.
Despite living in Southern California, we in AV have always had our own unique culture. KP patients in Antelope Valley often face challenges common to rural areas, including narrow options for high-quality care in health emergencies. The registered nurses and others who work in the urgent care are used to stepping up and saving those experiencing health crises who can’t wait for a 50-mile job to get KP care. Let’s stick together now and stand up for our community. Let Kaiser know that we won’t accept reduced access to quality care for those who need it most.