California Correctional Healthcare Services (CCHCS) UPDATE

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CCHCS has recently taken additional steps to utilize the Medical Assistant (MA) classification to fill positions on provider lines in CDCR institutions. In response to a formal notice, the Union met with CCHCS leadership to discuss the department’s process to fill these positions.

Our team confirmed these positions will only be filled when a full-time, permanent LVN vacancy opens up elsewhere within the same institution.

Once a vacancy is open, the following steps will be taken to fill the position and transition a LVN into the identified vacancy:

  • The department will seek volunteers to move from the provider line to the vacant LVN position.
  • If no rank and file LVN volunteers to move into the vacancy, management level LVN’s will be involuntarily moved into that vacancy.
  • If there are no management level LVN’s to move into the vacancy, then rank and file LVN’s will be moved to the vacancy relying on inverse seniority.

None of these steps will be taken if there is no other full-time, permanent LVN vacancy within the institution in which a LVN can be placed, or if there are no MA’s hired to be placed on the provider lines. No transitions or moves will take effect until the MA hired has been fully trained and onboarded with the department.   

The department’s goal is for provider lines to be removed from the LVN PAS/MARS for the 24-month post and bid cycle that begins at the end of 2019.

Throughout this process, our Union fought to maintain job security for our LVN’s. This included meeting with the state, attending and testifying at SPB hearings, and other actions taken to ensure that our members were represented and protected.

Our team ensured that the utilization of the MA classification will not result in job loss or displacement for our LVN’s.