UNC Health changes mask policy after worker complaints

Healthcare workers all over the country have been struggling to get the masks they need to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Now, UNC Health is following WakeMed in giving masks to some additional workers, even outside the emergency room.

That change is good news to Amanda Hatem, a radiology technologist at Johnston Health in Clayton. For weeks, she's been worried she'll bring the virus home to her six children.

Because radiology workers aren't considered "frontline" workers, their manager's request for N-95 masks was initially turned down. Instead, Hatem says they were told to use the same single surgical mask for a full 60 hours of work.

"We’re getting a whole slideshow presentation saying you get one mask for five shifts," Hatem said. "It has to be stored in a brown paper bag, and that brown paper bag is kept in a laundry basket in our break room."

But she says radiology techs often have very close contact with patients in the x-ray exam room, and there's no way to know which patients might be infected with the virus.

"I strip down before I leave work, I strip down in the garage when I get home, I run straight to the shower and take the hottest shower possible and scrub my skin," Hatem said. "I pull into the parking lot to go into work, and I am sick on my stomach. The anxiety is through the roof."

UNC Health's Director of Infection Prevention Emily Sickbert-Bennett says the system is trying to protect healthcare workers who are dealing with known COVID-19 patients while conserving resources the best they can.

"We are at what we believe is the beginning of our pandemic of COVID patients, and we are trying to be very thoughtful in how we balance protecting our staff today but also being ready to take care of patients in the future," Sickbert-Bennett told us.

In a follow-up statement, UNC health spokesman Alan Wolf added that the situation and the guidance on how to handle it is continually evolving. "The leaders at UNC Health recognize that this is an unprecedented time of uncertainty and anxiety. We want all of our more than 33,000 employees across the state to feel safe and protected."

Hatem will be fitted for an N-95 mask Friday, along with her co-workers.

"That’s all I’m asking for is protection," Hatem said, "because if we have the appropriate PPE, then we can do our job and be confident doing our job."