Nurses union calls on DC government for more coronavirus protection
DC’s Nurses Association is calling for new coronavirus guidelines and more personal protective equipment at St. Elizabeths Hospital after the union said four patients died.
The hospital is the District’s only public psychiatric facility. The nurse union released a scathing statement Tuesday that said the District government is playing “Russian Roulette with the nurses and other health care workers”.
DCNA is asking for big changes to coronavirus protocol at the facility that cares for mental health yet is seeing dozens of positive cases of COVID-19 in personnel and patients. According to the District’s coronavirus webpage, more than 100 patients are in quarantine due to exposure or symptoms of COVID-19.
"Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) at St. Elizabeths and other hospitals remains a concern of the DCNA, particularly the practice of the re-use of N-95 respirator masks which is not medically appropriate and puts health care providers and patients’ lives at risk. The most significant risk is through contact transmission from touching the surface of a mask that has become contaminated with other pathogens acquired from patients," the statement said.
“St. Elizabeths Hospital is unlike other hospitals. They do not have normal surgical procedures. The nurses there are often not trained in some of the more acute types of care that nurses at Washington Hospital Center, Howard University Medical Center are. So, we’re a little concerned about these nurses’ ability to care for these patients,” Edward Smith, DCNA executive director told ABC7 News reporter Victoria Sanchez.
ABC7 reached out to the Department of Behavioral Health for comment regarding the union’s request for more equipment and updated guidelines. As of the close of business Tuesday, the station had not received a response.
