US Healthcare Worker Covid Cases Surpass 9,000

 

 

 

 

Dozens of nurses held a protest and vigil outside the White House reading the names of 50 healthcare workers who have died after becoming infected by the coronavirus on the job.  The protest was organized by National Nurses United, which is demanding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration require adequate personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 9,200 healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19, though the CDC admits the true rate is likely much higher.  CDC data shows that 73% of the health workers falling ill are female and their median age is 42.  US officials also say they have no comprehensive way to count those who lose their lives trying to save others.  A limited CDC infection tally said 27 healthcare worker have died but stressed that the count was drawn from just 16% of the nation’s Covid-19 cases, so the true numbers of healthcare infections and deaths are certainly far higher.

Some states, including Ohio, have reported rates of healthcare worker illness as high as 20% but have not revealed data at the county, city or hospital levels. One health system, Henry Ford in the Detroit area, reported that more than 700 employees tested positive for Covid-19. Yet they have declined to say how many workers died, as in Ohio, to protect patient privacy.  Media reports have shown case after case of healthcare workers across the US saying they do not have adequate protective gear to keep from getting sick.

The New York State Nurses Association filed a lawsuit the New York Department of Health and two hospitals Monday for their failure to provide adequate safety measures at the start of the coronavirus crisis. The lawsuits alleges the failures of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration and the two hospitals for not providing sufficient protective equipment, like masks and gowns.  NYSNA executive director Pat Kane said that more than 70% of her nurses reported being exposed to the dangerous disease and that most are still untested.

Media outlets revealed last month that at one of the hospitals named in the suit, a shortage of gowns was so dire that nurses battling the coronavirus pandemic at Mount’s Sinai’s Midtown West hospital resorted to wearing trash bags over their uniforms for protection.  One of there coworkers, a beloved assistant nursing manager, Kious Kelly, died from the coronavirus.  At the time of her death, Mount Sinai insisted there was no shortage of PPE.