Unionized psychiatrists and nurse practitioners at Cornerstone Montgomery, an independent behavioral health care provider with dozens of locations across the D.C. region, are accusing management of unfair labor practices, arguing that recent policy proposals would sacrifice their ability to care for patients.
Represented by the healthcare worker union 1199SEIU, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners say that Cornerstone Montgomery has tried to “drastically” increase the number of appointments on the providers’ calendars, which would decrease the amount of time each practitioner can spend with their patients, and how frequently they meet.
“We’re not even able, right now, to handle the amount of clients we have,” a union member told DCist/WAMU. “We can’t serve residents of Montgomery County, and we’re worried that it’s just continuing to get worse.”
Current Cornerstone Montgomery employees spoke to DCist/WAMU as a collective union, fearing that individual identification could put their job at risk.
Cornerstone Montgomery practitioners often treat residents with severe mental illnesses, and its client population is predominantly underinsured or uninsured patients, many of whom rely on Medicare or Medicaid to access behavioral health services. In addition to residential programs across the county, Cornerstone Montgomery also runs outpatient mental health clinics in Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Rockville, community-based services like permanent...
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