Mar 23, 2020 7 min read

Employees at a local long-term residential facility are concerned about the company’s policy not to issue masks to face masks to employees who want to use them.personal protective equipment PPEs.

A certified nurse assistant at the facility said she was told she can’t wear the face masks she brought from home, but the company won’t provide her with them because they are rationing  them. 

Another employee there said 

One certified nursing assistant who is pregnant said she brought her own facemasks into the facility and was told by a manager she was not permitted to wear them because they would scare residents and patients, and they were ineffective.

She said the staff was told the long-term care facility was saving the masks in case an outbreak occurs, and staff members can wear a mask only if they are showing symptoms of being sick.

“I’m terrified to be here,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified. “I am a direct care worker. i do everything for the people. Some of them can’t cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze because they’re paralyzed or physically limited, or they just don’t cover their mouths, and  everything you do to get 

Local I’m just pregnatn and stressed.  I walked inot work with my own face masks, my dad gave them to me, he put them in a ziploc bag, unit manager said you’re not allowed to wear that, i feel like i need to protect myself, she said it scares the residents, i said i’d leave, htey didn’t say anthnng else, said paper maskes are useless anyway, they said they have them for when people show signs or sypmtoms of CV, if you feel like you need one, theye’re not readiyly available in our supply room, we have to see a suprvisors, if we have a cough or runny nose without a fever, we have to be screened, fill out paper work, have our temp taken, which is protocol from the daprtment of health, we starded that sometime between wednesdya and friday last week, we’re allowed to wera a mask if we show sypmptoms of being sick. My thing is why wait when incubation period is 2 to 14 days, why tatke that chance to show sysmptoms, bevore protecting yourself. We’re washing hands, disinfectingn ocmmoly touched surfaces, but i think i need soemthone over my mouth and nose if soneme coughts in the air, i swnat. 

There is a national lack of, they’re saying there’s more being made, but when will bwe get them, when it’s oto late, when nubmers are increaIn singly depxonetionally, i hintk we should, if a resident shows sysmptms, they get a paper mask to put ofver their face. CDC said hyour’s supposed to wear a respoirator.

I work for Permeier Health Center, ther’s quite a few pregant women, we’re all concrned, there’s quite a few owmen with newborns.  In building there are close to around 300 beds in teh facility, they’re taking precautions to peopel going to and from for people who come in ffom hostipal or go to hospital, they’re going to one specific unit, any belongings are put in storage for 72 hours, and we disinfect anything they have and bring it up into building. Put into place  14 day isolation period, no one . Smokers aloowed outside for 1/2 hour at a time and keep distance.

It’s still scary i did ask my unit manager if i wanted to self-quarantine myself for 14 days, she said you could be going to stores, what if it lasts. How will you get paid? She said I’ll let you know, i called back yeterstday, everyboy left, they said nothing 

I work 40 hours in 3 days, 16 hours saturdays and sundays, three days in a row, being potentailly expsoed.  it’s not, i called my OB, told them, asked if they could write me a script for facebamasks, im highly susceptlbie, i could get seiously . I personally want to leave but i don’t want to lose my job, i’m terrified to be here, absoltleyly terrified, they say asl ont ans you wans your ands, and protect yourself. I have to use my vacation time before i’m allowed to take a leave of absensce, have to sue my sick time. If it does exponentially get worse, my plan is to use my time as i can and hopefully they’ll approve me for a leave until this dies down, but they have a hard time with tstaf, but staffing even mroe so now because people are scared. Tehre’s no visitors, no deliviveries, not allowed to go out and get food and bring it back. Its they’re taking the necessary precatutios beause they’re keeping the facemasks . They. Kelly, 

WASHINGTON HOSPITAL NURSE.

I;m scared too it’s anxiety provogin, the CDC event they dont’ know how tiis virus is, in china and italy they’re wearing ahazmat suits, here we’re doing droplet precautions? There’s going to a covid 19 unit, but i know right now we are on the safest floor, but you just dont’ know how it’s going to be 2 weeks from now, i see that map

It’s scary, its’ very unknown, about what s going to happen, 

Is’nt that crazy, it just blows my mind that that’s something they’re recommending us to do, a lot of it comes from the top, he released all the pandemi response beam, maybe if we ahd that, we’d have something more 

He downplaye dit so much and i feel like, a lot of the nurses, a couple, a month and a hfal ago i said  i feel like this is going to get really bad, people look to our president for guidance. I want to take care of patients, that’s why i went to nursing school, i just don’t want to jaeka care of patients when i ncat take care of my self, i live with my boyfriend, i come home i could give it to him, they say you can hang with a party of 10 or less, say he goes to see his mom and dad, who arre 

Look at all these people who have money celebireis, that are getting test ode, i feel like the health system is foctused around money, the hospital, i know certain hospitals are getting X amount of test kits, trump said everyone can get tested, my aunt went to florida 3 weeks ago, she lives with my granadmother with empysjia, she wanted to get tested, in case she was expesied, she couldn’t get a test, 

I mean, the whole thing, it’s crazy how this has unfolded and they’ve bee n warning u, iu9ru president didn’t htaek it seriously and were’ sraceimli gto get money and equipment. 

I mean it’s scary. You jut never what you’re going to walk into. That’s why i wanted to be a nurse, i’t cliche it wasn’t for the money it’s to care for people. But if you can’t be property [roetcted, it’s kind of hard to go into work every day. What about us, are wei going to go into isolation, what’s going to happen when all of the nurses fall sick.

Still don’t have any masks, they’re still hoarding htem, i’ve been working all weekend, nothign changed at all, they ataully, another girl who was upset about it, she contacted DON she waa through agency took her offf schedule, 

Empplloyees agencyies coming in , 40-50,

That and aslo the main thing is getting the residencts sick too, we’re out to the store, i think it’s good that we wear gloves, but better if we would wear the masks, too. 

Any more questions.