KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
The Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital registered nurses union is planning a rally on Saturday to call for increased safety measures, officials said.
The rally is addressing patient safety issues including the reuse of PPE which can lead to the exposure and transmission of dangerous pathogens, including COVID-19, and the recent layoffs of experienced nurses from the emergency department despite current staffing shortages which can negatively impact care, according to the California Nurses Association (CNA).
“We have carefully managed our PPE inventory levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure we always have adequate supplies of PPE for our staff, and our PPE protocols meet all state and federal safety requirements,” said Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
Nurses are currently being instructed by hospital management to wear the same PPE during an entire shift. PPE is designed for single use only and if a nurse had reused PPE prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, that nurse would likely have faced disciplinary action and possible termination, according to the union.
“The hospital’s decision to ration PPE and implement unsafe PPE protocols not only leaves the nurses open to exposure and infection of disease, it also increases the risk that patients will be exposed and possibly infected,” said the CNA in a statement.
In addition, nurses at Henry Mayo are calling on the hospital to reinstate recently laid off nurses due to the critical need in the emergency department, according to the union.
“As for staffing levels, we staff all our units to ensure we safely meet the needs of our patients, and we adjust staffing levels when necessary,” Moody said.
The rally is set for 10 a.m. at Heritage Park in Valencia, according to organizers.
“The nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital are members of this community, and they are committed to providing the best care possible for all their family members, friends, and neighbors who seek care at the hospital. But the nurses are not able to do that without the proper PPE and the support of the experienced nurses with whom they have worked alongside for years,” the CNA said.
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This is a sad circumstance for our medical staff. Ether the state and federal experts dont know the purpose of surgical masks or this virus really is not as serious as they are making it out to be because from what i have read a surgical mask is to prevent the surgeon from infecting an open wound by blocking the surgeons from accidentally sneezing coughing etc into the wound. It is not designed to keep you from inhaling anything, that is obvious by the gap between those nurses face and the mask.
The nurses are asking for N95 masks which do form a seal around the nurse’s face, offering protection to both patient and nurse.
You shouldn’t comment on things you know nothing about. That is the sad circumstance.
Exactly SCV Mom! It isn’t providing much protection. Yet people feel the false sense of security wearing their contaminated masks ?ok fools
This goes along with other valid arguments as to why to even bother with gloves and masks. It’s not protecting anyone once it’s contaminated. Yet we wear them everywhere with a false sense of security. Not me personally but I see so many thinking they are protected. Why send kids to school one week and off the next week? Does the virus take a break? What is the logic?
Mr. Moody sure does have a way of twisting words and scenarios around! I can tell you I work at the hospital and if anyone is working the front it is very dangerous. Not only does the triage nurse have to keep on seeing an influx of people but they are assigned 4 to 8 patients in cars and still have to make sure the people in the lobby waiting for rooms are safe. This nurse does the job of what 3 RN’s would do but apparently Mayo is adjusting so that higher administration doesn’t have to get lay offs or even Lord forbid reduced wages. I’d like to see 1 or 2 people max come into triage for a week and sit there not say a word and watch what 1 RN does and then at the end of that week tell us if they think its safe. This is but one problem of many in the hospital. The whole “We Care,” is definitely not showing there or many other areas of the hospital with staff shortages.