Nurses Battling Coronavirus Beg for Protective Gear and Better Planning
Source: nytimes
Health care workers are among the most at risk of contracting the virus, but many say they lack protective gear and protocols to keep themselves and their patients safe.
By Farah Stockman and Mike Baker March 5, 2020, 6:30 p.m. ET
In the fight against the coronavirus, nurses play a critical role, but some on the front lines in the hardest-hit areas in the United States say they fear that their health is not being made a priority.
Nurses in Washington State and California said they have had to beg for N95 masks, which are thicker than surgical masks and block out much smaller particles, and have faced ridicule from colleagues when expressing concerns about catching the highly contagious virus. Some have complained about being pulled out of quarantine early to treat patients because of staff shortages.
“If nurses aren’t safe, then really our community isn’t safe,” said Jenny Managhebi, a clinical nurse at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center, where 24 nurses were asked to self-quarantine after a patient tested positive for the virus. “If I’m not safe at the bedside, when I come home to my husband and my children, then they’re not safe.”
Concerns from nurses in Washington State and California echo those of nurses nationwide. National Nurses United, a union that represents about 150,000 nurses across the country, announced on Thursday the sobering results of an online survey it recently conducted.
Of the 6,500 nurses who participated, 29 percent said their hospitals had a plan in place to isolate potential coronavirus patients, and 44 percent said they had received guidance from their employers about how to handle the virus.
Sixty-three percent had access to N95 face masks, and a quarter of the respondents had access to an even more protective mask recommended by the union, known as a PAPR, or a powered air purifying respirator.
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At a news conference on Thursday afternoon, the union demanded, among other things, that the federal government ensure all health care workers receive the highest levels of protective equipment, that any vaccine that is developed be offered to the public for free, and that Congress immediately pass an emergency spending package in response to the virus.
“The C.D.C. has been behind the ball at almost every step of the way,” said Jane Thomason, a union official who focuses on workplace health and safety.
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/us/coronavirus-nurses.html
This is the letter that was linked in the article. It was a PDF file:
https://act.nationalnursesunited.org/page/-/files/graphics/NU-Quarantine-RN-press-conf-statement.pdf
CALIFORNIA NURSES ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL NURSES UNITED
Statement by a quarantined nurse from a northern California Kaiser facility March 5, 2020
As a nurse, I’m very concerned that not enough is being done to stop the spread of the coronavirus. I know because I am currently sick and in quarantine after caring for a patient who tested positive. I’m awaiting“permission” from the federal government to allow for my testing,even after my physician and county health professional ordered it.
I volunteered to be on the care team for this patient, who we knew was positive.I did this because I had all the recommended protective gear and training from my employer. I did this assuming that if something happened to me,of course I too would be cared for. Then,what was a small concern after a few days of caring for this patient,became my reality:
I started getting sick.
When employee health told me that my fever and other symptoms fit the criteria for potential coronavirus, I was put on a 14-day self-quarantine. Since the criteria was met,the testing would be done. My doctor ordered the test through the county.
The public county officer called me and verified my symptoms and agreed with testing.But the National CDC would not initiate testing.They said they would not test me because if I were wearing the recommended protective equipment, then I wouldn’t have the coronavirus.
What kind of science-based answer is that? What a ridiculous and uneducated response from the department that is in charge of our health in this country.
Later,they called back,and now it’s an issue with something called the “identifier number.” They claim they prioritize running samples by illness severity and that there are only so many to give out each day. So I have to wait in line to find out the results.
This is not the ticket dispenser at the deli counter; it’s a public health emergency! I am a registered nurse, and I need to know if I am positive before going back to caring for patients.
I am appalled at the level of bureaucracy that’s preventing nurses from getting tested. That is a health care decision my doctor and my county health department agree with.Delaying this test puts the whole community at risk.
I have the backing of my union. Nurses aren’t going to stand by and let this testing delay continue; we are going to stand together to make sure we can protect our patients—by being protected ourselves.
End
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Robin Addison, a nurse at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash., demonstrated how she wears a respirator helmet with a face shield. It is similar to the one she used when she helped treat a man, currently in isolation at the hospital.Credit...Ted S. Warren/Associated Press
= new reply since forum marked as read
I mean what would she know that our great & glorious all knowing anal cyst doesn't know
