Mass Nurses Association Call for Improved Protective Equipment and Redeployment Rather Than Furlough
Thursday, April 09, 2020
- Ensure every nurse and healthcare worker who comes in contact with any patient has an N95 mask and other best practice PPE to guard against the highly contagious and stealthy spread of COVID-19.
- Staff should be redeployed as appropriate to help with the COVID-19 surge rather than be furloughed, laid off or otherwise sent home without pay or forced to use their own time off.
- Support recommendations from the perspective of frontline nurses and healthcare workers. The latest April 7 letter from the MNA to Gov. Charlie Baker detailing these recommendations can be found at www.massnurses.org/COVID-19.
According to the MNA Governor Charlie Baker announced a plan on April 7 to send an additional $800 million to healthcare providers. This supplements $840 million in previously announced assistance to the Massachusetts healthcare system. Congress has also approved $100 billion in funding for hospitals in response to the pandemic.
“To effectively combat this virus, we need these additional resources directed to the front lines to protect nurses and healthcare workers and flatten the curve,” said Donna Kelly-Williams, RN and President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, representing more than 23,000 frontline nurses and healthcare professionals in 85 healthcare facilities and the vast majority of RNs in hospitals statewide.
“Too many nurses and healthcare workers who could be redeployed to help fight this pandemic are being furloughed, laid off or cancelled,” Kelly-Williams said. “We need all hands-on deck and now that hospitals are receiving additional financial support, they should be able to redeploy, train and house staff who are willing and able to help fight this outbreak.”
Local Examples of Hospital PPE/Furlough Issues
- Trinity Health of New England is furloughing nurses and other healthcare workers. Trinity has also been cancelling nurses rather than redeploying and training who is able to assist in other units and is not providing N95 masks to all frontline nurses and healthcare workers.
- Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and all other Partners Healthcare facilities are not being provided N95 masks in all patient areas, despite researching showing the virus can spread without symptoms.
- Steward Healthcare MNA members at hospitals around the state have raised the need for consistent proper PPE and better two-way communication and expressed concern about abruptly shuttered ICUs.
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