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Nurse: UNC Health not supporting workers on pandemic's front lines

UNC Health is making decisions to conserve protective gear for health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic, not necessarily to safeguard the health of the workers themselves, a nurse charged Wednesday.

Posted Updated

By
Sarah Krueger
, WRAL Durham reporter
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC Health is making decisions to conserve protective gear for health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic, not necessarily to safeguard the health of the workers themselves, a nurse charged Wednesday.

The nurse at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, who asked not to be identified, told WRAL News in an exclusive interview that staffers are told to reuse surgical masks for five 12-hour shifts, storing them in paper bags between shifts. Also, some patients aren't tested for coronavirus until after they have already undergone a scan or other preliminary procedure, potentially exposing hospital workers unnecessarily.

"I think the leaders of UNC have failed the staff who are taking care of these patients at the bedside," the nurse said. "The people making these decisions are not the people that are taking care of the patients, and we are not included in those decisions, either."

Stress levels among hospital staff are high, the nurse said.

"It’s definitely an anxiety-provoking area. When you walk into work, you just are working 12-hour shifts in a world of uncertainty," the nurse said.

Going home doesn't always provide the needed relief, either.

"It’s just pretty heartbreaking when you walk through the door and your children want to run up and come see you after a long day, and you have to stop your child from coming up to give you a hug," the nurse said.

Some workers have started changing out of their scrubs in their garages and immediately showering so they don't expose their families to the virus, the nurse said.

"I don’t think there is a great, quick solution right now. I think this is something that we need to learn from and make sure that it never happens again," the nurse said.

UNC Health spokesman Alan Wolf said the hospital system has an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and is following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for extending the use of surgical masks.

"We still have a critical need for a sustained source of masks, and our task force is working to ensure we have sufficient PPE supplies," Wolf said in an email. "We continue to work hard to conserve PPE, especially now as we are giving masks to all co-workers and patients, and as we remain prepared for the reality of a patient surge in the coming weeks and months."

Any patient who shows symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested for the virus, Wolf said, but "we will not withhold additional medical care, testing or treatment, while waiting for coronavirus tests results."

The nurse also expressed concern that some patients were still sharing rooms at UNC Hospitals, but Wolf said the 900-plus acute inpatient beds are in private rooms. Only a handful of rehabilitation beds are in semi-private rooms, he said.

Wolf did confirm that "a very small number" of hospital workers have contracted COVID-19, the illness associated with the coronavirus. Some of them were infected outside of the hospital, he said.

"The leaders at UNC Health recognize that this is an unprecedented time of uncertainty and anxiety," he said. "We want all of our more than 33,000 employees across the state to feel safe and protected, and we encourage all of them to raise concerns with their supervisors or hospital leadership. We are communicating twice a day with co-workers, and spend time responding to rumors and any inaccurate information circulating that can contribute to anxiety."

The nurse said, however, that concerns raised by hospital staff are usually met with "we’ll get back to you."

The nurse now is looking for another job.

"I don’t feel that UNC protected us during this time or had our best interest," the nurse said. "I feel like the decisions were made to conserve PPE, not protect staff.

"I love being a nurse, but I want to make sure that my decision to be a nurse, and why I chose to be a nurse, I want to make sure that I’m still protected in the long run," the nurse added.

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