As reported today by Newsday, nurses at two Catholic Health Services hospitals are reporting that they are still being forced to reuse masks and other PPE, even as outside sources including Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley, NY) say they have helped the CHS obtain thousands of masks. He stated that the two hospitals whose nurses have complained anonymously, have each received 14,000 N95 masks that he helped facilitate. In addition, Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), has also helped St. Catherine of Siena obtain PPE.
Furthermore, nurses have stated that they are being forced to share gowns with each other to take care of patients in the same room.
Interestingly, CHS does not appear to be denying what the nurses are reporting, however, staff has been instructed not to speak to the media. A quote from the article:
In an April 7 email to union leaders, provided to Newsday, St. Catherine human resources director Onorina Saporito wrote: “Based on the information that the union provided to the outside media, it is not in our best interest to continue to meet on a regular basis.”
This article caught my eye, because I subscribe to Newsday, and noticed last week in an article that CHS would not provide Newsday with data on employee infections. Another quote from today’s article:
Chris Hendriks, a spokeswoman for Catholic Health Services, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Catholic Health was also the largest hospital network that did not provide Newsday last week with data on how many of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
The New York State Nurses Association has criticized the two hospitals, and they report that their members who work other regional medical groups such as Northwell Health, are no longer reporting such shortages.
Why would a medical group not release PPE to their frontline employees?