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Contra Costa nurses urge supervisors to delay layoffs, warn of public‑health impacts
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Summary
Public‑health nurses and union leaders told the Board of Supervisors that planned layoffs in the county's Enhanced Care Management and related programs risk patient safety and continuity of care, and they asked the board to extend the layoff effective date to allow placements for displaced staff.
About a dozen public‑health nurses and union representatives told the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on March 31 that planned layoffs in the county's Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program and related public‑health units risked patient safety and interrupted long‑standing caregiver relationships.
"We ask the board to consider today extending the layoff effective date for those employees who have not yet found landing spots," said Sean Stalbaum of IFPTE Local 21, who spoke during public comment. California Nurses Association representative Justin Taylor said the cuts have already removed specialized staff from multiple programs: "The acute communicable disease unit … lost 5 of their 8 public health nurses," he said, and the tuberculosis program was left with "one experienced nurse" after displacements.
The board discussed one consent item tied to personnel changes — agenda item C86, a position adjustment resolution originally effective April 6 — and supervisors proposed changing its effective date to May 6 to give labor time to locate transfers and reduce program disruption. Supervisor Candace Anderson moved the change, Supervisor Ken Carlson seconded, and the motion incorporating the date change and other consent adjustments passed unanimously.
Speakers from nursing programs described specific operational concerns. Jeremy Parker, speaking on behalf of a nurse in the Nurse Family Partnership, said families "are being told that they must start over with a new nurse or go without services at all," and warned that many clients choose the program early in pregnancy and depend on continuity. Michelle, a public‑health nurse reading for an affected TB nurse, urged the board to "pause these layoffs and consider retaining some of the experienced staff" because tuberculosis control depends on experienced staff for timely diagnosis and contact tracing.
Grant Colfax, Contra Costa Health Director, told the board the staffing changes align with statewide ECM program models, that the county is following civil‑service rules and working to mitigate disruptions through training and reassignments, and that staff were working with labor to place qualified employees into appropriate positions.
The board asked county staff to continue working with unions on placements and accepted a procedural change to the consent calendar that extended the C86 effective date to May 6. Union leaders asked for that extension and for continued negotiation to reduce displacements.
The supervisors did not adopt program‑level policy changes during the public comment period; the board voted on the consent package with the agreed date change and then proceeded to closed session and other agenda items. The unions said they will continue to press for placements and for additional time to avoid layoffs where possible.
