Health care workers are at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic with little to no gear. Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals are working day and night, risking their lives to ensure others are safe and healthy. Pleas have been made nationwide to resolve the shortages of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) available to providers. Instead of supporting these health care providers, some hospitals are allegedly threatening to fire health care workers who publicize their subpar working conditions and gear shortages. More concerned with their reputation than the safety of their workers, many medical facilities and hospitals have warned employees off of speaking to the media without prior approval.
“Hospitals are muzzling nurses and other health-care workers in an attempt to preserve their image,” Ruth Schubert, spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association, told Bloomberg News. “It is outrageous.” In a time where doctors and nurses are in high demand and help is needed throughout the medical field to fight the novel coronavirus, it is indeed “outrageous” that employers are more concerned with their image than the needs and health of their employees. Bloomberg News reported that multiple people were fired or threatened should they speak to the media without authorization. Amongst them is an emergency room physician, Ming Lin, who said he lost his job after speaking with The Seattle Times about a Facebook post he shared detailing his experience with COVID-19 testing and protective equipment. While hospitals generally have strict media guidelines to protect patients, the coronavirus pandemic has raised other concerns.
In New York, the state with the highest number coronavirus cases, NYU Langone Health has threatened its employees with termination should they speak to the media without authorization. According to Bloomberg News, NYU Langone Health employees received a notice Friday from Kathy Lewis, executive vice president of communications, that said anyone who spoke to the media without prior approval would be “subject to disciplinary action, including termination.”
A spokesperson told the outlet that the policy is meant to protect patient and staff confidentiality. “Because information is constantly evolving, it is in the best interest of our staff and the institution that only those with the most updated information are permitted to address these issues with the media,” Jim Mandler, NYU Langone Health spokesman, said. With the need for doctors and other health care providers growing by the day, health systems and institutions should not be threatening employees with termination, especially in a state that is in dire need of help. Doctors in New York are making continuous pleas for more equipment and help on the ground. If they are silenced, more harm is done to not only the health care system, but the public.
As more health care workers are not allowed to speak, the public remains unaware of the conditions the workers face. Sharing their experiences not only highlights the importance of their work, but creates awareness of how this virus is affecting the country and the public health care system. Social media posts from doctors sharing insight into the hospitals and their working conditions have emphasized the importance of staying home and practicing social distance during such a health crisis.
“Health care workers are working diligently to keep the pandemic at bay,” Vidya Ramanathan, pediatrician, told The New York Times. “We hope that everybody takes this as seriously as we are. The keys for the public are social distancing and staying at home.” Awareness of the shortages of masks has even enabled many volunteers to come together in an attempt to gather donations of masks or make them for health care providers in need. Unfortunately, many health care workers have reported being unable to bring their own masks, increasing their chance of being infected.
“We are at war with no ammo,” a California surgeon told The Times. The surgeon expressed the lack of access to basic surgical masks, and like other doctors did not want to share her name in fear of retribution for speaking out. Health care providers are being silenced and dehumanized. While the public is being told to stay home, doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals are at the front line of the novel coronavirus pandemic and most at risk to be infected. “I’m terrified,” another doctor told The Times. “I feel like it’s only a matter of time before I’m infected with this illness.”
Doctors and health care workers have families too. Shortages of masks and other PPE creates risks for not only these providers but their families and loved ones also. Health care providers are already risking their lives daily to save thousands of people infected with the novel coronavirus and other diseases. When doctors speak up, not only does the public become more aware of the work they are doing, but of the importance of it and the humanity behind our health care system.
Not all hospitals are restricting health care providers from speaking to the media. Many hospitals are encouraging staff to speak to the media in order to help spread the news of the severity of the crisis. Kious Kelly, a nurse at Mount Sinai West, New York, died last week due to a lack of protective gear, coworkers said. Coworkers took to social media to complain about the inadequate supply of protective clothing and masks. A nurse who worked with Kelly told The Times that the hospital had offered nurses one plastic protective gown for an entire shift, when regular protocol required a change between patient interactions. New York’s Mount Sinai and the University of California San Francisco Medical Center are both encouraging workers to talk to reporters about hospital conditions.
“I’m hearing widespread stories from physicians across the country and they are all saying: ‘We have these stories that we think are important to get out, but we are being told by our hospital systems that we are not allowed to speak to the press, and if we do so there will be extreme consequences,’” Nisha Mehta told Bloomberg News. Mehta, a radiologist from North Carolina, runs Facebook groups for physicians. She said numerous requests from workers have come in to share with the public, many from those who are told not to talk to the media by their employers. “The public needs to hear these stories and other physicians need to hear them to be warned against what’s coming,” Mehta said. “It’s so important that everyone understands how bad this is going to get.”
If our providers are infected with the virus as numbers grow increasingly quickly, who will be there to provide care for the sick? It is essential that doctors are provided not only with the PPE they require but the ability to speak up and express their concerns about how the novel coronavirus is being dealt with and what is happening in hospitals to spread awareness. No one should fear losing their job for telling the truth. At a time when health care professionals are needed the most, it is essential we listen to their needs and concerns, no matter how difficult the truth may be to hear.