Nurses protest to demand safety and equipment as they treat coronavirus patients
Nurses saying they were not properly prepared or equipped to treat patients infected with the coronavirus held a demonstration Thursday outside Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center demanding safety and protective gear during COVID-19 outbreak.
Members of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association gathered to speak about the challenges nurses nationwide face while trying to fight against COVID-19. The nurses say they don’t have the appropriate equipment to protect themselves against the virus and should have received necessary equipment testing years ago; not during a national healthcare crisis.
Catherine Kennedy, a registered nurse in intensive care, said nurses are needed at hospital bedsides to treat patients. She asked: Who will take care of the patients if nurses are sent home sick?
“This is a national emergency,” Kennedy said during Thursday’s protest. “And we’re here in the front line, and all we’re asking for is to make sure that patients are safe, we’re safe, so that we don’t take this virus home to our families and to our communities.”
As the virus continues to spread through the region, equipment and supply needs have increased dramatically, said Dr. Stephen Parodi, associate executive director of The Permanente Medical Group.
He said the protocols used to care for patients suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 are aligned with the latest science and guidance from public health authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“These protocols, and personal protective equipment, have been reviewed and approved by our infectious disease experts and are in use by the major hospital systems in California and the U.S.,” Parodi said in a written response to Thursday’s protest.
The nurses unions also organized similar demonstrations outside Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center and UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
The nurses say they need N95 masks to protect them from the coronavirus while they do their work. Kennedy said nurses are having to call management to get a mask, and there’s not enough gowns or gloves.
“We don’t know what this virus is about,” Kennedy said. “And so as healthcare workers, if we’re not safe, we can’t keep our patients safe.”
Parodi, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said they are managing resources to ensure this equipment is available for the entire healthcare workforce for the duration of this pandemic.
“These measures, along with the many steps we are taking to slow the spread of this virus, will significantly increase our ability to prepare for any increased volume of COVID-19 patients, while protecting our staff and providing them with the right protective equipment,” Parodi said in his statement.
Joanne Imwalle, a registered nurse at the Roseville medical center, said the nurses have been asking Kaiser Permanente officials for several years to do N95 mask fit testing for the nurses.
“The nurses were not fit tested,” Imwalle said during the protest. “So, now they’re trying to do it quickly when we’re in this emergency, which is not the ideal time to do it.”
She said the testing she received was done with a mask from a hardware store, which doesn’t provide a secure fit to protect her from airborne diseases.
