Maine nurses urge federal action to protect health care workers from Ebola

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https://bangordailynews.com/2014/10/21/health/maine-nurses-urge-federal-action-to-protect-health-care-workers-from-ebola/

Maine nurses urge federal action to protect health care workers from Ebola
By Nick McCrea, BDN Staff
Posted Oct. 21, 2014

BANGOR, Maine — The nation’s largest nurses union is calling on President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to ensure hospitals across the nation are implementing the best possible protocols to protect health care workers, patients and the public from Ebola.

A small group of registered nurses, members of the Maine State Nurses Association under National Nurses United, gathered Tuesday morning in Pickering Square in downtown Bangor to urge people to sign on to a nationwide petition to mandate increased protective standards in health care facilities across the country.

“We are asking everyone to sign our petition demanding the president, the Congress and every hospital in the United States ensure that optimal protections are implemented immediately,” said Cokie Giles, Maine State Nurses Association president. “That is how we are going to contain Ebola and protect our patients.”

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Maine State Nurses Association represents about 2,000 Maine nurses. In all, about 7,000 registered nurses work in Maine hospitals, according to Vanessa Sylvester, labor representative for Maine State Nurses Association.

National Nurses United, which represents about 185,000 members across the nation, held similar news conferences Tuesday in cities across the nation, from Oakland, California, to Chicago. More are planned throughout the week.

The petition effort was sparked after an online survey conducted by National Nurses United found that of 3,000 nurses from 1,000 health care facilities representing every U.S. state, 84 percent believed their hospital had not provided adequate training on how to deal with an Ebola patient.

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