Employer not Informing Employees when Someone has Covid

[falcon53192]

I had a question. My employer at an outpatient surgery center discovered an employee that had covid. There was not contact tracing involved after she was sent home (she's been sick and out for 2 weeks now). I have inquired and management says they can't say anything because of HIPAA, but shouldn't my employer inform us that we've been exposed to covid??? There hasn't been one word. Is this legal? Shouldn't they HAVE to tell us?? Not one word that I've been working next to someone with covid. The only reason I know she has covid is because I know her friends outside of work and they told me. Am I crazy or is it immoral at the very least not to inform us. I think they are keeping is hushed because if they let everyone know they would have to shut down and test everyone.

[toomuchbaloney]

9 minutes ago, falcon53192 said:

I had a question. My employer at an outpatient surgery center discovered an employee that had covid. There was not contact tracing involved after she was sent home (she's been sick and out for 2 weeks now). I have inquired and management says they can't say anything because of HIPAA, but shouldn't my employer inform us that we've been exposed to covid??? There hasn't been one word. Is this legal? Shouldn't they HAVE to tell us?? Not one word that I've been working next to someone with covid. The only reason I know she has covid is because I know her friends outside of work and they told me. Am I crazy or is it immoral at the very least not to inform us. I think they are keeping is hushed because if they let everyone know they would have to shut down and test everyone.

Maybe they are hoping that the Senate is going to provide them with liability protection for their reckless and dishonest behaviors.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

The question is what is your exposure risk level? like, were you in the break room with this employee sharing a table, masks off, while eating?  basically any similar situation spent with this employee that lasted 15 mins where conditions were not optimal to protect you from transmission. 

With the way COVID-19 is spreading, it's inevitable that any workplace will have a number of employees getting sick.  You do have to balance an individual employee's right to privacy against making sure that an outbreak does not ensue as a result of that employee's infection.  At my workplace, these situations are handled by Occupation Health and an investigation of risks are determined.

Employers have an obligation to inform other employees who may have been put at risk but that contact tracing would depend on the involved employee's account and honesty of the interactions they had in the workplace.  Her patient contacts must also be informed and necessary steps would need to be done to make sure that those patients were not infected. Individuals not deemed at risk of being exposed should not have to know.

 

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Respectfully, at this point you are wearing the PPE that is provided, yes? And you have no idea what patients have when they walk in off the street, yes? So it's kind of like the bloodborne pathogens class we teach yearly: treat everyone like they have "it." Whatever "it" is. And prepare accordingly.

Just read an article about asymptomatic shedding patients being the highest risk for all of us. Assuming you're PPE'd to the standards of your unit or employer, why do you think you're at higher risk of contracting COVID?

[JKL33]

6 hours ago, ruby_jane said:

Just read an article about asymptomatic shedding patients being the highest risk for all of us. Assuming you're PPE'd to the standards of your unit or employer, why do you think you're at higher risk of contracting COVID?

With regard to this specifically I would say that we have never consistently been decked out in PPE as if everyone had "it."

Have we? Haven't we generally spent a lot of time walking around with basic surgical masks +/- goggles or face shield?

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

12 hours ago, JKL33 said:

With regard to this specifically I would say that we have never consistently been decked out in PPE as if everyone had "it."

Have we? Haven't we generally spent a lot of time walking around with basic surgical masks +/- goggles or face shield?

It's now 10 months in. I have all the PPE recommended for an ambulatory care nurse (and I bought some not-fit tested N95 masks "just in case").  I realize I cannot make assumptions but most ambulatory care nurses have what we need and are consistent in our practice wearing them.