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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2009
7:00 AM

CONTACT: California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC)

Shum Preston, 510-273-2276 or Liz Jacobs, 510-273-2232

Registered Nurses Announce Live Video Chat to Discuss Survey Data Finding Hospitals Unprepared for H1N1

Data from 190 Healthcare Facilities in Nine States from California to Maine

- August 28 - Registered nurses from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee will host a live video chat for America's RNs this Friday at 12 noon to present the results of a new survey on H1N1/swine flu preparedness in American hospitals, and answer questions from nurses.  The RNs will also discuss their "careplan" to ensure that our nation handles the H1N1 virus in a medically appropriate manner.

WHAT: Registered Nurse Live Chat: Data on Hospital Preparedness for H1N1

WHEN: Friday, August 28 - 12 Noon, PST

WHERE: Log-in via www.CalNurses.org

The study, conducted at 190 healthcare facilities in nine states found 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. 

Key findings of the study included:

  • 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 reuse 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.
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The California Nurses Association, and its national arm, the National Nurses United, is one of the nation's premiere nurses' organizations and health care unions. One of the fastest growing health care organizations in the U.S., CNA/NNU presently has 80,000 members in 50 states, representing nurses at scores of hospitals, clinics, and home health agencies.
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) Links:
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