Corona Virus Update 5/15

I was wondering what I was going to write about this evening and then this came across my virtual desk. It is a blog by Trung Le, an RN with University Health Professionals, UHP/AFT CT. Trung shares his story of dealing with Covid-19 at work and also as a patient. Many thanks to him for sharing this experience and his insights. You can find this article and other great ones at https://aftvoices.org/a-second-wave-of-covid-19-is-coming-we-cant-let-history-repeat-itself-dcebe1064018

A second wave of COVID-19 is coming, we can’t let history repeat itself

By Trung Le

A few weeks ago, I tested positive for COVID-19. I work in a step-down unit, but because I used to work in the intensive care unit, I often end up in that unit caring for COVID-19 patients. I can’t pinpoint just how I got sick. Maybe it was having to reuse my N95 mask over and over, or the patient who accidentally coughed in my face after I removed her surgical mask, or it could have come from being forced to work 16-hour shifts or pick up extra days because we are so short staffed.

Incidents like this are not unique to my hospital, UConn John Dempsey; it’s happening at all the hospitals. But I was the first frontline nurse at my hospital to get sick, and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from what’s happening to workers like me.

When I got sick, I was staying at a hotel just down the road from the hospital. UConn Health had negotiated rooms for workers who wanted to isolate themselves from their families; but when hotel management found out I was positive, they kicked me out. I was moved to a college dorm room. but it was uncomfortable and I could not rest. Thankfully, I was able to return to the hotel under a strict quarantine. I had been getting better before that, but moving wiped me out. The symptoms of the virus have been rough — fever, nausea and restless nights. I’ve been told I can’t return to work until I am symptom free for three days without medication.

I’ve been quarantined in my hotel room for weeks now, trying to get my strength back. I’m also fighting to stay mentally strong because the isolation is really tough; being sick and isolated sometimes leaves me feeling like I don’t know who is going to take of care me. I hope to turn the corner so I can get back to work, back to a routine. Because I’m quarantined and not allowed to leave my room, UConn Health was supposed to provide food for me, but that somehow fell through the cracks. Lucky for me, I don’t have an appetite. Still, my wife and co-workers drop off meals for me. Thank God, I’m a healthcare worker. I know what to do to get the help I need. I can’t imagine what it’s like for others in my position.

Let’s start by fixing the disconnect between management and workers. In hospitals, management often sits behind a desk and implements policies that make sense to them on paper but leaves us scratching our heads. My fiasco of being moved from place to place while fighting COVID-19 is a perfect example.

And because healthcare workers have the support of the public, now’s the time to push for policies we’ve been fighting to achieve for years, like short staffing and putting an end to violence from patients and families. We have to ride the wave while we can.

That’s why I don’t mind speaking up about what’s happening. I will say and do what I can to protect my co-workers and myself. We are putting our lives on the line, and when management doesn’t have your back we need laws that will protect us. It’s funny that before COVID-19, a nurse could get reprimanded for reusing personal protective equipment; but in this time of crisis, there have been blatant safety violations left and right, and we haven’t heard a peep from OSHA.

A second wave of COVID-19 is coming. We should have four to five months to stockpile and restock, and I hope that’s what everyone is planning on doing. We need to continue replenishing PPE and adjust protocols so we can have a smoother run during the second wave. I know that hospitals are doing the best they can. But I hope when the dust settles, we can learn from our mistakes so that history does not repeat itself.

Trung Le is a registered nurse and a member of University Health Professionals/AFT Connecticut  

It is 69 days since our first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut. We have 5 days before a partial reopening. 

Hospitalizations are down 70 to 1033

This is the same number as was on April 4th, 2 weeks into lockdown. 

66 people died today for a total of 3285. 

 AFT has pulled together research on how much hospitals have received from the Covid stimulus bills  
I have forwarded that information to our field reps. 

Please thank our Connecticut Delegation for their support of this important stimulus bill and if you live in another state, urge your representatives to support it. 

Today the House of Representatives will vote on the HEROES Act, the next COVID-19 relief bill in Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic House members have been drilling down deep into how this crisis is affecting families and those who take care of us all, providing the services and resources we need to keep our communities safe and livable. This bill puts people first, especially those on the frontlines of this pandemic: our healthcare providers, educators, and the essential workers ensuring we have food on our tables, clean grocery stores, and safe hospitals and public transportation. 

Unfortunately, some senators and representatives are already trying to stop the relief bill. They are happy to give big tax breaks to the richest Americans, but they don’t want to invest in federal aid for states, cities, towns and schools, to provide the American public with desperately needed relief. That’s why we must keep up the pressure.

Click here to write to your lawmakers right now. Let them know that the American people need the HEROES Act. We need to invest in people, public health, public education and other public services—in state, city and town governments—if we are going to defeat this pandemic and get the economy safely back on track. This bill helps us all, not the wealthy few; we need Congress to vote yes.

This bill is a vital step toward helping our country begin to recover from the devastation of COVID-19. It lays out—and pays for—a plan to prioritize the health, safety, well-being and economic security of all Americans, without exclusion. It invests federal aid in our states, cities, towns and schools, so that they can assist working families and weather this economic crisis. It protects the very people and institutions that have carried us through this crisis. And it helps our states, cities and towns deliver the public services and support the essential workers we rely on: firefighters, nurses, teachers, police officers, bus drivers and more.

The relief offered in this package combats the virus by providing $75 billion for necessary testing, tracing and hospital support, which are critical for reopening safely. It also invests nearly $1 trillion in state and local aid, including $100 billion for public schools and public colleges.

We know that to survive this pandemic, we need a massive investment in our communities and schools. For parents to go back to work, we must be able to reopen schools and reopen safely. That includes physical distancing, smaller class sizes, nurses in schools, testing and tracing. Since the beginning of the shutdowns, we’ve seen the vital role public schools play in the daily lives of parents and the entire community. Reopening is going to require more resources, not fewer.

That’s why it’s so alarming that Republicans are already threatening to gut this bill. They continue pushing for legislation that helps their corporate donors and the richest Americans, but the HEROES Act is a bill that helps workers and families. It’s what we all need. I’ll be honest with you: It doesn’t have 100 percent of everything we had asked for. But it’s a very necessary step, and we have to mobilize to support it now.

Let’s make sure that every member of Congress is who is on the fence hears from us. We need to show a groundswell of support for this bill. Click here to write to your lawmakers and tell them: Support the HEROES Act.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten

AFT President 

Be well,

John