Saturday, March 28, 2020

Corona Virus update 3/28 (because Viruses don’t take weekends off)

We are 22 days since our first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut. 1524 confirmed cases (up from 1291 yesterday), 205 hospitalized, 33 dead.

First, let me say welcome to Mary Florio and Dave Hannon of CHCA, an AFSCME Healthcare Union. We share some hospitals and we share friendship. They are our allies in healthcare and I’ve added them to this email chain.
The number of cases and the number of deaths continue to climb, in CT and around the world. 5,400 of Spain’s, 3400 of China’s and 5,000 of Italy’s Healthcare Workers have contracted CORVID-19. 
In France, Italy and Spain, at least 30 Healthcare Workers have died.

At the end of this email are many resources. One of them is evidence to make the case for respiratory protection. It explains the need for N95 or better respirators. Meanwhile, some employers have told Healthcare Workers that Covid-19 is not airborne and others have said the surgical masks will protect against airborne particles. Still others have told Healthcare Workers not to talk to the press.
My God!
If we don’t look out for each other, nobody else will, and if we’re sick, we’ll infect others and be at risk or serious illness or worse ourselves.
Non-Healthcare Workers have asked what they can do to help. Stay home, stay safe, and use your networks to tell our stories. 

I want to start tonight with an email from our good friend Kelly, AFT Director of Health Issues. She sends many resources that I will attach at the bottom. Please pay attention the the request for Policy examples needed for CDC meeting

Greetings Healthcare Leaders, 

This note is going to the broad healthcare distribution list.  And it has a lot of dense, but important material. Thank you to Sara for continuing to pull almost all of this info together.

PPE resources attached. Attached please find some additional resources that we hope will help you in your discussions with employers about the need for respiratory protection and their obligation to seek other kinds of respirators. While the scarcity of PPE is critical in many places, some employers began withholding N95s before getting their first case, leapfrogging from conventional PPE capacity to crisis capacity mode, endangering their workers without cause.  If healthcare workers are not protected now, things will be much worse later.  Employers must stop hoarding the respirators. 

  1. The first piece is an article from experts explaining aerosolization of the coronavirus and explaining other kinds of respirators that can be used.
  2. A factsheet that lists several studies demonstrating evidence of aerosolization of COVID-19.
  3. Two pieces on using elastomeric respirators in healthcare from the National Academy of Medicine.
  4. A factsheet for EVS workers.  We will have it translated into Spanish and Russian as well.
  5. A report from the AFL-CIO health and safety department for today. 

Policy examples needed for CDC meeting. We are looking for examples of bad policies that are endangering nurses and other workers—cases where the employer has misinterpreted or twisted the CDC guidance to justify withholding respirators and other PPE, or have threatened to penalize staff for wearing PPE. If you have examples of bad policies, please send them to us.  We will be taking this information to a meeting with CDC. 

COVID-19 tracking across our union and related member benefits. The AFT is hoping to track member infection and deaths among our members. We need the name of member, their local union, age, date of death, family contact info. Family contact information is particularly important in case the death is covered by our AD&D policy. The AFT has a number of benefits members can take advantage of now or in the event of infection by COVID-19. Check out @AFTMembBen on Twitter.

Additionally, the AFL-CIO has asked us to share numbers as well, as they are also beginning to track infections and deaths among healthcare workers. We will be respectful of personal info and sharing preferences.

Around the world: 
--Out of Spain’s 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, 5,400 — nearly 14 percent — are medical professions
-- 90% of infected  Health care workers in Italy were infected by their coworkers not by patients
-- In Italy, France and Spain, more than 30 health care professionals have died of the coronavirus
-- Almost 5,000 health care workers on the frontline of Italy's COVID-19 crisis have contracted the coronavirus
-- At least 24 Italian doctors have died since the beginning of the nation's devastating coronavirus outbreak
-- Over 3400 Chinese HCWs infected and 18 deaths

A thought on Governors’ or state COVID-19 response teams. Lastly, if you are in communication with your governor’s office or the state emergency taskforce, please encourage them to include occupational health and safety experts on these teams.  Often, these groups only include infection control people who do not think a lot about workers’ needs.  Qualified people would include industrial hygienists or occupational health nurses from state OSHA agencies or universities, or unions. 

Thank you for the tireless giving of yourselves to our members.

Kelly

Kelly D. Trautner
Director | Health Issues
(Pronouns: she/hers)
T: 202-393-7991 |  F: 202-783-2014 |  E: ktrautne@aft.org

American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
555 New Jersey Ave. N.W. | Washington, DC 20001 | 202-879-4597
http://www.aft.org| http://www.facebook.com/AFTunion| www.twitter.com/AFTunion

Find our latest COVID-19 Resources and Information at AFT’s Resource Page



Please send me info (jbrady@aftct.org) on any cases of our members taking care of or cleaning rooms of either suspected or confimed cases of Covid-19 without proper PPE, including N95 respirators or better. . The Governor’s office and DPH asked for specifics. 
Also, have members send a complaint to DPH EACH SHIFT THEY WORK WITHOUT N95s when caring for a suspected or confirmed patient.

Randi will have a telephone town hall on Monday. Please share this;
John,
Over the past few weeks we’ve worked continuously to support our members and our affiliates as they respond to this pandemic.
We’ve had three priorities: First, we must address the health, safety and well-being of our members and communities. Second, we must protect and care for our frontline healthcare practitioners. And third, we must fight for legislation and policy to buffer the short- and long-term economic impact of this pandemic.
We have fixated on getting our healthcare members the personal protective equipment they need, supported locals when schools have closed down, created a wealth of resources for affiliates, and advocated for relief from Congress in the three COVID-19 response bills that have already passed. 
On Monday, March 30, at 5:30 p.m. ET, we’ll be having another membership telephone town hall. We want to check in with you and give you an update on the status of all the work we’ve done nationally. We’ll also have a psychologist on the call to discuss mental health strategies for coping with this crisis.
In unity, 
Randi Weingarten

Donation page from AFT Connecticut
We've all been shocked at reports of nurses and allied health professionals on the frontlines of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic facing critical shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE). As union leaders, we are proud to share the efforts of one of AFT Connecticut's field representatives to help you and your colleagues make a difference.
Our field rep Logan and his partner launched a drive to collect potentially life-saving PPE and get it into the hands of some of our 10,000 members of affiliated healthcare unions


Perhaps you know someone who owns or works at a construction company, nail salon, tattoo parlor or other organization with an inventory of unused PPE. Or you may have connections to health professionals whose private medical or dental offices have respirators, face shields, goggles, hand sanitizer, coveralls, or disposable masks, gloves and head covers.


Your efforts — even if simply spreading the word to your friends and neighbors of this urgent need — will be greatly appreciated. Help us demonstrate the strength of the "U and I in Union" to protect those fighting to save lives.
More to come, and In solidarity,

Bill Garrity, RN
Vice President for Healthcare, AFT Connecticut
John Brady, RN
Vice President, AFT Connecticut
Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut

This is a letter to the American Hospital Association from unions, community, and activist groups demanding the AHA strongly denounce any hospital that tries to muzzle Healthcare Workers from speaking out about the Pandemic. 

March 27, 2020
Richard J. Pollack
President and Chief Executive Officer American Hospital Association
800 10th Street, N.W.
Two CityCenter, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20001-4956 Delivered by email to rick@aha.org
Dear Mr. Pollack:
We were appalled to read recent media reports about hospital administrators across the U.S.
muzzling doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals with threats of disciplinary action
for speaking out about coronavirus patient caseloads and dwindling hospital supplies needed to
1
It is critical that the public and local, state, and federal government officials fully comprehend the scope of shortages of personal protective equipment, mechanical ventilators, intensive care unit beds, and other medical supplies so that appropriate steps can be taken to mitigate shortages of these essential medical resources, appropriately and fairly allocate limited resources, and thus protect the safety and welfare of health care workers and patients alike.
Attempts to cover up these shortages by muzzling health care workers who are on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are reprehensible and reckless and endanger public health. Although such actions may be commonplace in countries with authoritarian regimes, they are not acceptable in the U.S.
The undersigned consumer advocacy, workers’ rights, science, research, public health, civil rights, human rights, and grassroots political organizations, labor unions, and individuals therefore demand that the American Hospital Association publicly denounce any such efforts to muzzle health care professionals and call on its member hospitals and health care systems to encourage their doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals to speak freely about coronavirus patient caseloads, dwindling hospital supplies, and any other challenges that should be immediately addressed.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent public health matter. Please contact Dr. Michael Carome, Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, at mcarome@citizen.org with your response.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Retired Americans American 
Civil Liberties Union 
American Federation of Teachers
American Medical Student Association
American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP)
BlueGreen Alliance
Business for Medicare for All
Center for Reproductive Rights
Communications Workers of America
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Consumer Action
Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Doctors for America
Equality North Carolina
Glenn Paulson, Ph.D., BCES, Sc.D. (Hon.), Retired Professor, George Washington University,
Milken Institute School of Public Health
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of
America, (UAW) IUE-CWA
Justice at Work
Knowledge Ecology International
Labor of Love Safety Training and Consulting (Diane Matthew Brown, CIT) Martin S. Kanovsky, M.D., FACP, FACC, FASNC, FASE
Mary E Miller, R.N., M.N., Occupational Health Nurse
MassCOSH
Medicare for All Now
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Center for Health Research
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Employment Law Project
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Nurses United
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
National Women's Health Network
New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy People's Action
PhilaPOSH
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Progress America
Progressive Democrats of America
Progressive Doctors
Public Advocacy for Kids
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
Right Care Alliance
SafeWork Washington
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Social Security Works
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers United Steelworkers
Universal Health Care Action Network
V. Ram Krishnamoorthi, M.D., M.P.H., Chicago, Illinois
Virginia Organizing
Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health

                                                                                                            
Here is an example from Hartford Healthcare’s internal newspaper that goes to all employees. Notice the “Don’t talk to Media”  They placed it in the section on Patient Privacy, but the message was clear to employees.

From Danbury
Hi John,
     This is the Covid-19 Binder (attached below) our nurse Educator Laura Dickens made for our Covid units.  She said I can share with my Union areas and I do want you to know other hospitals including Brigham and another Boston Hospital is wanting these to use to assist the nurses.  We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful and smart educator.  One of Laura's scientist colleges is also doing a study of a way to disinfect/sterilize the N95 masks.  Please share this with other Hospitals that may be interested.  Laura wants the best safety for all Front line workers.
               Sincerely,
                       Janice

If you are reading this on the blog and would like any of the below attachments, please email me at jbrady@aftct.org

Please, please, please be safe. 
You’re important to us,
John

John Brady RN
Vice President
AFT Connecticut

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