August, 26 2009, 08:50am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Shum Preston, 510-273-2276 or Liz Jacobs, 510-273-2232
Many Hospitals Are Not Ready for H1N1: Nurse Survey Shows Deficiencies in Hospital Swine Flu Readiness
Data from 190 Healthcare Facilities in Nine States from California to Maine
NATIONWIDE
A patient health and safety survey of 190 American hospitals
from coast to coast compiled by registered nurses in eight
different states finds that a disturbing number of our nation's
healthcare facilities are not prepared for the coming H1N1/swine
flu pandemic, according to results released today by the
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing
Committee.
The data reflects a survey conducted over the past four weeks
by RNs in hospitals in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois,
Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas. And it
comes just a day after release of a report from the President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predicting nearly
2 million Americans could be hospitalized due to swine flu
infections this winter, and as many as 90,000 could die, nearly
triple the deaths that occur in a normal flu season.
What the RNs reported are wide gaps in safety gear, infection
control training, and post-exposure procedures. Among key
findings:
- At more than one-fourth of the hospitals, nurses
cite inadequate isolation of swine flu patients, increasing the
risk of infection to others. - Nurses at 15 percent of hospitals do not have access
to the proper respirator masks, exposing nurses and patients to
infection; at up to 40 percent of the hospitals,
nurses are expected to re-use masks, in violation of
Centers for Disease Control
Guidelines. - At 18 percent of the hospitals, RNs report that
nurses have become infected; one Sacramento, Calif. RN has
already died.
CNA/NNOC is calling on all hospitals to adhere to the highest
standard of protection for patients and nurses to combat the
expected onslaught of new cases this fall and winter, and urging
legislators to strengthen public protections.
"These continuing problems increase the risk that many
hospitals will become vectors for infection, with inadequate
patient protections leading to a spread of the pandemic among
other patients, their friends, family, and caregivers, and the
surrounding community," warned Deborah Burger, RN, CNA/NNOC
co-president. "What we're hearing from around the country is
dangerous to patient health and safety, but with smart and
clinically appropriate leadership we can fix policies in time
for the upcoming pandemic."
On Wednesday, nurses at more than 50 of these
hospitals, mostly large hospital systems, will hold actions to
demand hospital administrators immediately implement safety
improvements for nurses and patients. Contact CNA/NNOC to
find out about what nurses are doing in your area.
CNA/NNOC leaders will also be testifying in a joint
California Senate hearing in Sacramento Thursday on preparedness
for swine flu in the state's health and education systems.
The hearing is at 9 a.m. in Room 112 at the State
Capitol.
"This report should serve as a wake-up to hospital
management, policy makers, and healthcare workers across the
country. We need to urgently increase our readiness,"
Burger said. "We do not yet have a complete picture of the
morbidity of the H1N1 pandemic. But that is no justification for
hospitals making inadequate preparations and endangering the
health and safety of patients and their community. When
September comes, we expect that infection rates of H1N1 will
spike due to the beginning of the school year, prompting
overcrowded emergency rooms, which will put our public health
readiness to the test."
"The swine flu is not the type of flu we are used to.
This pandemic will stress every aspect of our healthcare
system. Hospitals must be proactive in protecting the
public," said Houston RN Terry Hardin.
"The state of Maine has identified over 300 cases of H1N1
infection, resulting in at least 19 hospitalizations and one
death," said Cokie Giles, EMMC, president of Maine State Nurses
Association/NNOC. "A recent survey of our membership
indicates that there may be some areas of serious concern
regarding preparedness policies. We are calling on
MSNA/NNOC represented facilities to ensure that patients and
nurses are protected to the fullest extent from exposure to
H1N1."
"It is important for hospitals to meet full safety standards
for swine flu so that our patients and our nurses are
protected," said Temple University Hospital RN Patricia Eakin,
president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and
Allied Professionals/NNOC.
"I don't know how the local hospitals will staff up for the
pandemic. Nurses at my institution don't accrue sick time, we
use our accrued vacation time to call out sick. We also
work short [staffed] instead of having a replacement when
someone does call out. In these economic times, you tell
me who will be staffing the hospitals?" said Tampa Bay area RN
Peggy Bowen.
Illinois hospitals, says Chicago RN Brenda Langford, "are not
prepared to deal with this pandemic. We have provided our
copies of our surveys to management and they have not moved to
change our practice to be in compliance with the recommendation
set for by the CDC. If the Cook County Health and Hospital
System won't make these needed changes and the Cook County
Department of Public Health won't support our efforts to protect
the nurses and the public, it is left up to the NNOC to make
sure these needed protections are implemented."
Findings of the survey include:
- Half the hospitals have seen infected patients. At 18
percent, RNs have been infected, nurses say. - Nurses at 15 percent of hospitals report that they do not
have access or only some have access to the appropriate N95
respirator masks, and at 19 percent of the hospitals all or some
masks were not "fitted," to ensure their effectiveness against
the virus - More than one in five, 22 percent of the facilities, do not
have enough masks, say nurses. - At almost 40 percent of those which do have sufficient
masks, all or some of the masks are expected to be reused, say
nurses. That puts nurses and patients at risk of infection and
violates CDC guidelines which say all healthcare personnel who
enter rooms of patients in isolation for H1N1 should wear a
fit-tested disposable N95 mask, and that the masks should not be
reused. - Nurses at 26 percent of hospitals report that infected
patients are not being properly isolated, in appropriately
ventilated rooms, raising the possibility of the infection
spreading to others in the facility. At nearly a third of the
facilities, proper infection controls are not being
followed. - Nurses at fewer than half of facilities (49 percent) report
that they have been adequately trained on H1N1 issues, including
identification of infected patients, and procedures for caring
for these patients. - Nurses at only 35 percent of facilities report that they are
guaranteed adequate sick leave if they become ill while caring
for a patient, penalizing them for appropriately staying home
while infectious.
These numbers are borne out by the controversies that have
been reported at hospitals across the country. Examples
include:
- At the University of California Davis Medical Center (near
Sacramento), a patient who subsequently died from H1N1 was
transferred to an intensive care unit as the patient's condition
deteriorated. But rather than be kept in strict isolation with
proper ventilation, the door to the patient's room was kept open
the entire time, placing other high-risk patients, visitors, and
caregivers at risk. - Nurses at Temple University Hospital, a major acute-care
hospital in Philadelphia, are concerned that the level of
preparedness is not sufficient. The hospital has yet to make
clear to nurses its plans and procedures for dealing with H1N1
which is expected to worsen with the start of the school year.
The nurses are already seeing an influx of more patients due to
the closure of one of Temple's nearby facilities, Northeastern
Hospital, and are concerned that without better preparation and
sufficient staff, the anticipated influx of patients due to the
pandemic would be especially dangerous. - At Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo, Calif., there
were not enough masks to deal with three infected patients in
the ICU. Within short order, approximately 10 nurses were
affected. The state office of occupational health and
safety is investigating. - Nurses report that a Kaiser Hospital South Sacramento has
informed patients and visitors that N95 respirator masks are not
necessary and that simple "surgical" masks will suffice, which
directly contravenes standards issued by every government
agency. - Nurses at Los Alamitos Medical Center near Los Angeles
report that Tenet has eliminated sick benefits that would ensure
nurses could afford to take time away from work if they develop
symptoms.
In conjunction with the report, CNA/NNOC is releasing a list
of demands - "The Nurses' Swine Flu Safety
Agenda" - to adequately prepare for this
pandemic.
- Minimize infection of hospital patients and workers by
strict adherence to the highest standard of infection control
procedures, including identification and isolation with
appropriate ventilation of infected patients - All hospital workers and visitors must be provided with
appropriate protection gear at the highest government standards,
including N95 respirator masks or better for all who enter the
isolation room of a confirmed or suspected H1N1 patient. - Guarantee all patients and workers full transparency after
any exposures to H1N1, in as timely a manner as possible - Healthcare workers and facility visitors must receive full
information and guidelines on risk exposure and facility
infection control recommendations - Any RN who is unable to work due to contracting a
communicable or infectious disease identified or treated in his
or her hospital/clinic shall be guaranteed sick leave, not face
disciplinary action, and shall be presumptively eligible for
workers' compensation benefits - Implement a moratorium on any closures of emergency rooms,
layoffs of direct healthcare personnel, and reductions of
hospital beds. - Federal guidelines for protection must be developed that are
consistent across agencies - Disposable respirator masks must not be re-used. In the
event of a demonstrated national mask shortage, facilities
should adhere to government recommendations on mask
conservation.
National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in US history.
(240) 235-2000LATEST NEWS
Police Violently Arrest University of Texas Students Protesting Genocide in Gaza
"After 205 days of genocide and almost 40,000 Palestinian martyrs, it is shameful that UT continues to invest in mass murder and resorts to brutal intimidation tactics to try to silence its own students," said one protester.
Apr 29, 2024
Around 40 peaceful pro-Palestine protesters were arrested Monday on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin as police once again violently cracked down on student-led demonstrations against their school and country's complicity in Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza.
UT students and allies are calling for not only an end to the Gaza genocide but also a suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel and the university's divestment from Israeli investments. Protesters chanted slogans including "We are being peaceful, you are being violent!", "There is no riot here, why are you wearing riot gear?", and "Let them go!" as state troopers aided by local and campus cops dragged, hauled, and even wheeled targeted individuals into custody.
"Our main goal is to get the University of Texas to divest."
Organizers said police used so-called "less-lethal" weapons including flash-bang grenades, mace, and "other chemical munitions" against protesters. National Lawyers' Guild volunteers attempted to collect information from arrestees and inform them of their rights.
"After 205 days of genocide and almost 40,000 Palestinian martyrs, it is shameful that UT continues to invest in mass murder and resorts to brutal intimidation tactics to try to silence its own students, who are bravely taking a stand against genocide," said Lenna Nasr of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
"We demand that UT divest from the Zionist state of Israel and from all institutions and companies that are enabling the current genocide in Gaza," Nasr added. "And, we demand the resignation of [UT president Jay] Hartzell for greenlighting the militarized repression of peaceful student protestors on their own campus."
Mustafa Yowell, a UT engineering student whose father is from Texas and mother is from the occupied West Bank, toldAl Jazeera: "Our main goal is to get the University of Texas to divest. Stop sending money to Israel and divest from companies that profit off of war like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. It has nothing to do with antisemitism, or Islam, or being Arab. It's about human rights, conflict, and oppression that people face."
Police commanders eventually ordered officers to retreat from the UT campus, sparking a tremendous cheer from demonstrators, who followed and tried to block a bus loaded with arrested protesters.
Arrested students have reported mistreatment in police custody, including incidents of Islamophobia. One young Muslim woman told Al Jazeera that she was denied period products and was forced to wear blood-soiled clothing.
Some students said they did not plan on protesting but felt compelled after witnessing how police treated the nonviolent demonstrators.
"We weren't planning on doing anything like this until we saw students' heads getting smashed into the ground up the road," Joseph Ely, a graduate student and president of the Palestine Solidarity Committee at Texas State University in San Marcos, about 30 miles southwest of Austin, toldKUT News. "It was really the police at the University of Texas that provoked us to do this."
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott weighed in on the arrests in a social media post declaring that "no encampments will be allowed."
In response, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) accused Abbott of "escalating the situation at UT Austin and putting Texas students and journalists in danger."
Monday's arrests follow last week's violent raid on pro-Palestine protesters at UT, during which dozens of people were arrested and at least one journalist and professor were brutalized along with numerous student protesters. Monday's action also came amid a growing wave of nationwide campus demonstrations against the Gaza genocide and complicity by the U.S. government and universities.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Poor People's Campaign Plans June 29 Mass Assembly, March in DC
"This is a crisis moment for our democracy," said one campaigner. "We need for our political leaders to become moral leaders and take seriously the needs and priorities of the millions of people struggling simply to survive."
Apr 29, 2024
Leaders of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on Monday announced plans for the Mass Poor People & Low-Wage Workers' Assembly & Moral March in Washington, D.C. on June 29, just over four months before the U.S. elections.
The aim of the assembly and march is to "mobilize the one-third of the U.S. electorate who are poor and low-wage infrequent voters" as well as to pressure political leaders to embrace a 17-point agenda during the 2024 election cycle and beyond.
"It does not stand to reason—morally, economically, or politically—that in the richest nation in the history of the world, 800 people die every day from poverty and low wealth," declared Bishop William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach. "Politicians then made the conscious choice to increase poverty to where it was before—an unconscionable reminder that mass poverty is a political choice, not an inevitable law of nature."
"We are here to say we must restore the moral conscience of this nation, and elect leaders across the country who will make different choices—not to raise poverty, but to lower it; not to give out tax breaks to wealthy corporations, but to those who are struggling to make ends meet," he continued. "These are the priorities of one-third of the U.S. electorate, and any candidate interested in activating these voters must speak to our issues and our values."
The agenda, revealed during the campaign's Monday press conference, is:
- Abolishing poverty as the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.
- A living minimum wage of at least $15+/hour (indexed for inflation)
- Full and expanded voting rights
- No more voter suppression
- Guaranteed workers' rights and labor rights
- Healthcare for all
- Affordable, adequate housing
- Strong social welfare and safety net programs
- An end to gun violence, profit, and proliferation
- Fully protected women's rights
- Environmental justice that secures clean air and water
- Justice for all Indigenous nations
- Fully funded public education
- Just immigration laws
- Addressing militarism and the war economy
- Standing for peace not war; an immediate cease-fire in Gaza that allows humanitarian relief, the release of all hostages, and peace with justice to be pursued; and an end to genocide around the world
- An end to hate, division, and the extremist political agenda
"We are a resurrection of the unheard voices in this democracy, not an insurrection," said Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice. "After years of historic union drives and grassroots organizing, we are demonstrating our power at the polls in 2024. We will elect leaders with the courage to abolish poverty, raise wages, safeguard voting rights, and meet the basic needs of struggling families."
In addition to Theoharis and Barber's groups, supporters of the assembly and march include the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Common Cause, Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Good Trouble, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Make It Plain, National Council of Churches, National Council of Jewish Women, Service Employees International Union, and Union of Southern Service Workers.
"Workers' rights, civil rights, and human rights are on the ballot this election. American voters will decide: Do we want to stay the course and keep on this path toward a more compassionate government or revert back to this morally bankrupt nation?" said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. "The American labor movement is committed to registering and mobilizing union members and union families around the mass mobilization on June 29. We're going to elect lawmakers who will advocate for workers and poor people to elect leaders who will put people over profits, protect our democracy, and advance worker and civil and human rights."
In addition to choosing between Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump, U.S. voters in November will decide which party controls each house of Congress. There will also be various consequential local and state elections, including ballot measures to protect key rights such as access to abortion care.
"This is a crisis moment for our democracy," stressed Rosalyn Pelles, a senior advisor to the Poor People's Campaign. "In order for our nation not to continue down the path of autocracy, we need for our political leaders to become moral leaders and take seriously the needs and priorities of the millions of people struggling simply to survive."
"Congress must lead, by bringing forward comprehensive legislation to restore the child tax credit and raise the minimum wage," Pelles argued. "The media must do more, by covering the experiences of people struggling to get by, not just the words and whims of the wealthy and powerful. And the White House must treat poverty like the crisis it is, if this administration is serious about saving our democracy. We all must act, and that is what June 29th is all about."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'We Do Not Support' ICC Probe of Israeli War Crimes in Gaza, Says White House
"ICC warrants against Israel and Hamas will offer the West a choice: Either torpedo the international criminal justice project they have advanced since 1945 for good or hypocritically demand impunity for Israeli war crimes."
Apr 29, 2024
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday reaffirmed the Biden administration's opposition to the International Criminal Court potentially issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top officials related to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
"Would the U.S. or the White House see any potential arrests by the ICC as an aggravating factor in the negotiations?" one journalist asked about talks to end the bloodshed and free hostages.
Jean-Pierre responded: "So, we've been really clear about the ICC investigation. We do not support it. We don't believe that they have the jurisdiction. And I'm just gonna leave it there for now."
#WATCH | On International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into Israel's conduct in Gaza, White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre says, "...We don't believe is in the ICC jurisdiction in this situation. We do not support the investigation. And I think that kind of… pic.twitter.com/du8NpEtLxj
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2024
Asked later about President Joe Biden's Sunday call with Netanyahu and whether the U.S. government is involved in any attempts to avert warrants from the Hague-based court, the press secretary echoed her previous comments.
The exchanges followed reporting that the Israeli government, in partnership with the U.S., is "making a concerted effort to head off" possible arrest warrants from the ICC targeting Netanyahu as well as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
Citing two unnamed Israeli officials, Axiosreported that Netanyahu on Sunday asked Biden to help prevent the ICC from issuing warrants. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told the outlet that "as we have publicly said many times, the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation."
Neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the treaty that established the tribunal, but Palestine accepted its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed "in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem," in 2015.
The ICC formally launched its war crimes investigation in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021, long before the IDF began its ongoing retaliation for the Hamas-led attack October 7 on Israel. The probe includes crimes going back to June 13, 2014.
Urging Biden "to intervene as part of the administration's ongoing commitment to Israel," U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Monday declared that "it would be a fatal blow to the judicial and moral standing of ICC to pursue this path against Israel."
Mark Kersten, an assistant professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, responded: "Now a Democratic senator is threatening the ICC's very existence if it does what it was created to do: Impartially and independently investigate international crimes, without fear or favor. I hope this grotesque threat and atrocity-denialism is roundly condemned."
Also noting Fetterman's comments, Alonso Gurmendi, a lecturer in international relations at King's College London, said: "They really don't realize just how isolated Western governments are on this. Even among their own populations. This won't be a fatal blow to the ICC. It will relaunch its relationship with the global majority. Fighting this will only isolate and weaken the West further."
In January, the International Court of Justice found that Israel is "plausibly" engaged in genocide in Gaza. As of Monday, the Israeli bombardment and blockade had killed at least 34,488 Palestinians in the Hamas-governed strip, injured another 77,643, left thousands more missing in bombed-out communities, and displaced around 90% of the enclave's 2.3 million people.
Since October, the United States has ramped up its billions of dollars in military support for Israel. The Biden administration has been accused of being complicit in genocide in federal court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular