Covid 19 and Healthcare Heroes

 As many nurses have now died from coronavirus than were killed during the entirety of the First World War, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has revealed.

The president has not ordered the production of N95s, the CDC has adjusted PPE requirements to “supply,” not infection control, OSHA has been slow to act. The House of Representatives has passed a bill calling for an OSHA Standard to protect Healthcare Workers but it has died in the Senate. Hospitals claim an “adequate” supply of PPE, yet require its reuse and refuse to make inventory numbers public. Nurses such as AFT Connecticut, AFT Nurses & Health Professionals, Backus Nurses have been forced to go on strike to get changes. 

I want to thank my congressman, Joe Courtney, (and others) for being a champion for healthcare workers. 

Don’t call us heroes and treat us like zeros.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-nurse-death-world-war-one-ww1-b1448185.html

Corona Virus Update 10/30

 The % positive looked better today (yesterday was 6.1%!)

The average for the the past 7 days was 3.0% positive though.

329 people are hospitalized statewide, a number we haven’t seen since June 7th.

We lost 39 people to Covid this week in Connecticut.

Thank you to those who have responded to my inquiry of how many members have contracted Covid-19. I understand that in most cases these are estimates. I would like to add to this list so please continue to update me and I’ll post from time to time.

Local 5123 L&M 49 members

UHP                  126 (includes all of UConn Farmington)

5149 Backus      25 (since 10/1) plus 10 non-union members

5051 L&M          4

5047 Danbury    2

5119 VNA          4
I know there are others

Please encourage friends to get their flu shots and let me know if you need surgical masks. 

Yesterday, Members of AFT RNs of local 5052 at Natchaug Hospital and members of SEIU 1199 held an informational picket to draw attention to the dangers they face from physical assault on the job and the Corona Virus. 

AFT and other unions sue OSHA for failing to protect healthcare workers

The AFT and several other unions that represent healthcare workers sued Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for unlawfully delaying rulemaking on an occupational standard to protect healthcare workers from infectious diseases transmitted by contact, droplets or air—like the flu, COVID-19 and Ebola. “Doctors, nurses, respiratory techs and other healthcare professionals have been treating COVID-19 patients for the better part of a year without basic workplace protections, including adequate PPE, robust testing and, most importantly, an infectious diseases standard that would require employers to establish a comprehensive infection control program to protect frontline workers who are facing daily exposure,” AFT President Randi Weingarten says.

Scott

 I wanted to share this from a nurse friend, Scott M. Mesloh RN, who contracted Covid 19 at work because he was not provided proper PPE. He then started a simultaneous battle for worker’s compensation and with medical complications. 

This is why we need to continue to fight for proper PPE for medical and other essential workers. 

Please wear a mask when in public. Please social distance as best you can. Please advocate for essential worker’s safety and voice.  

This is just one day in his struggle 

Cardiac cath is complete, unfortunately when they got into my right atrium it triggered atrial flutter.  They gave me a massive dose of amiodarone.  But it hasn't worked.  So they have me in a private recovery room on telemetry.  The are talking about bringing me back in and knocking me out so they can do a cardioversion...paddles to my heart.  Either why if this continues and they can't fix it I will have to go on blood thinners to prevent clots in my heart.

The other news is they found some atherosclerosis in my arteries, but not horrible, and definely not enough to be causing all these symptoms.

They did give me 5 Valium before the procedure.  And during it, I got 1 mg Versed and 75 mg Fentanyl.  I was awake throughout the entire procedure.  It was very painful at times, but all in all not horrible.  

Trying to get hold of Jill, think she might be on the phone with doc or probably sleeping.

Now the monitor is beeping VTACH in red, hear come the nurses.  BBL.

P.S. Nurse says still in Atrial Flutter, looks like I'll have to go back in and get knocked out with Propofol and they are going to try and shock my heart back into a normal rhythm.  Unfortunately they don't have an anesthesiologist here right now.  Nothing ever goes easy with me.  I always have to be difficult.  She is surprised the meds aren't working well.  Never thought I'd need an AED.  Heartrate is going really high at times.  Feel it in my throat, like an esophageal spasm, tired and dizzy.  Fuck me, life sucks right now.  And I am all alone again.  COVID - 19 non believers, fuck you.  This is all too real.

11:20AM - Doctors on the phone with anesthesiologist right now.  Gonna get cardioverted, hopefully soon and I can get home with Jill and Jordan.  

11:30AM - Just got some Cardizem Injectable, will get another on in an hour.  Still in Atrial Flutter.

12:00PM - Turning phone off to conserve battery, getting more Cardizem soon.  And try and rest.  I'll be back on in a little while to update here.

12:30PM - Going in for cardioversion, they scheduled it for 1:00PM.  So only about another 30 - 45 min.  They said its quick, some light anesthesia and a shock or two to my heart.  Then I have to stay for an hour or two and see how it goes.   Hopefully all goes well and I can get diacharged around 3PM.  But I will have to go on bllod thinners...so theres that.

2:00PM - Cardioversion was successful.  I am awake and snacking on toast and juice.

Backus Nurses Tentative Agreement

 Congratulations Backus Nurses, to you all. The bargaining team, strike captains, staff, members for your engagement, political friends for your support, other unions and community groups who participated, our state federation AFT Connecticut and national federation AFT - American Federation of Teachers AFT Nurses & Health Professionals and anyone I might be forgetting on your 4 year tentative agreement. 

This is a historic contract after a historic campaign that was well planned and executed and had at its core the fact the Backus Nurses is an engaged, democratic union. Connecticut AFL-CIO #BackUsBackOurNurses

Striking for respect

 You will hear a lot of reasons why the Backus Nurses will be on strike Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Let me tell you the truth. 

After battling on the front line of this pandemic for over 8 months, after fighting for proper PPE, after working short staffed and mandated double shifts, after pausing negotiations for several months to fight this virus, these nurse heroes hoped Hartford HealthCare would finally show them the respect they deserve. 

That is why they agreed to meet yesterday. I attended as an observer. 

At 10:00 in the morning the nurses offered a full counter proposal on ALL outstanding issues. They had made significant movement on key issues in this offer. They indicated to the hospital that if it were ready to make movement a solution was possible. None of these issues were new. They had been on the table since June. 

After 5 hours of caucusing amongst themselves, management had answers on some non economic issues. They indicated they were working on the economic issues. 

After 4 hours of more caucusing, they returned to say they could delay increasing insurance premiums for one year but had no movement on wages, NONE. 

They indicated that they could not move at all on a counter offer they had been reviewing for 9 hours. 

The nurses offered to continue talking or pick up on Monday IF management could say they could offer a counter proposal. 

Management only repeated that they were standing on their offer of 11 days ago. 

So when nurses say they are striking for respect- they are. 

Don’t call us heroes and treat us like zeros

 I attended negotiations at Backus Hospital on Thursday night. I watched as AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel spoke. She expressed her gratitude to all nurses and remembered what they had meant to her as they walked the journey of breast cancer treatment and recovery with her. 

She spoke to the hospital, demanding they respect the nurses and bargain in good faith, and that they come to a tentative agreement that night or face a 2 day strike that had the full backing of AFT and the greater Labor movement.

Then I watched as managements lawyer, Rick, spend a half hour blaming and disrespecting the nurses.

I have never seen such disrespect.

It really didn’t mater what offer came after that. 

Rick “blew up” negotiations.

I was furious, but now after a couple of days, I can see that as bad as this “presentation” was, it is what the nurses experience day in and day out from Backus Hospital.

They are told through the news that there is plenty of PPE and that staff have it 100% of the time, yet it is rationed to them and they must reuse it.

They contract Covid and then Hartford Hospital fights against them getting coverage under Worker’s Compensation, and when a outbreak occurs, they are blamed for “a breach in protocol.” 

They find out through coworkers, not the hospital, that a patient they took care of tested positive for Covid.

When they stand up for their patient’s safety, they are intimidated.

Nurses leave when another job is available, leaving those who stay to work short staffed and mandated double shifts.

The nurses seek a fair contract.

They seek pay equity with other area hospitals so that retention will be less of an problem. They seek insurance that is not continually eroding benefits, not a plan that management can change on a whim, without renegotiation (as the hospital has proposed). They seek a commitment to adequate PPE. They seek safe staffing, asking only that the hospital notify union leadership when they cannot maintain the staffing matrix (which the hospital decides and reports to the state DPH), so that together it can be discussed and solutions can be found.

They seek the respect that all Healthcare Professional seek and deserve.

The situation at Backus may be the extreme, but it is not isolated to Backus, to Hartford Healthcare, or to Connecticut hospitals. It is happening across the country and across the industry, in hospitals, skilled nursing homes, home care, and elsewhere.

The strike is not inevitable, but if it is to happen, Healthcare Professionals across the country will stand with the Backus Nurses. The Labor Movement and the Community will stand with them.

Don’t call us heroes and treat us like zeros.