Nurses fighting the spread of coronavirus unleashed a flood of criticism on the federal government and their companies Thursday, saying they have been left badly geared up to care for their patients and protect themselves amid the outbreak.
Members of the union National Nurses United said they have faced moving standards and a shortage of products as the tally of known infections has actually increased. They got in touch with the Centers for Illness Control to quickly increase testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the infection, and demanded that federal authorities implement emergency requirements for healthcare facilities and centers around the nation.
” The CDC has actually lagged the ball at almost every step of the way,” stated Jane Thomason, a commercial hygienist for the union.
Bonnie Castillo, a signed up nurse and the union’s executive director, said nurses were positive they might help consist of the spread of the virus, however just if “we are offered the securities and resources we need to do our tasks.”
More than 80 of the union’s nurses have actually been quarantined due to possible contact with infected patients, and Castillo stated lots of centers still lack the personal protective equipment that workers need to handle the outbreak.
” It is not an effective technique to leave nurses and other healthcare employees vulnerable,” Castillo stated at an interview in Oakland on Thursday. “When we are quarantined, we are not only avoided from caring for COVID-19 clients, however we are removed from taking care of cancer clients, heart clients and premature babies.”
The union launched the outcomes of a recent study it carried out of 6,500 members around the country on the concern of COVID-19 preparedness. Am