What is it like in your hospital right now?

Nurses COVID

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I'm PRN and have been on call because of low census. I know we have COVID and r/o COVID patients; I'm actually "assigned" to the COVID floor, but because of my status + elective surgeries canceled + people avoiding the hospital, our census is low.

I wonder what it will look like a week or 2 from now.

In the Denver Metro area for reference!

Specializes in ICU/ER/trauma.
10 minutes ago, PeachyERNurse said:

Is anyone else’s facility refusing to allow staff to wear masks (including plain old surgical masks) unless they’re caring directly for a COVID-19+ patient?

Yea. They’re locked up and rationed out. Insane. Great plan.

1 Votes
Just now, brap740 said:

Yea. They’re locked up and rationed out. Insane. Great plan.

I totally understand rationing, but to tell us masks aren’t allowed and threatening write ups if you bring in your own is just plain crazy.

5 Votes
Specializes in ICU/ER/trauma.

P

11 minutes ago, PeachyERNurse said:

I totally understand rationing, but to tell us masks aren’t allowed and threatening write ups if you bring in your own is just plain crazy.

Put your foot down and tell them to write you up.

4 Votes
7 hours ago, brap740 said:

P

Put your foot down and tell them to write you up.

Just keep your mask on. Don't challenge them to do a write-up or you might get it.

5 Votes
Specializes in ICU/ER/trauma.

You have to admit this punitive bs needs to stop. If a nurse brings their own masks in and wants to wear them, so be it.

where will that write up ever go?

as long as you can justify your actions write ups don’t mean anything, they’re as worthless as the filing cabinet they sit in....

3 Votes
Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.
15 hours ago, PeachyERNurse said:

Is anyone else’s facility refusing to allow staff to wear masks (including plain old surgical masks) unless they’re caring directly for a COVID-19+ patient?

My health system just started allowing us to wear masks at all times but only if we provide them ourselves. Hospital PPE is per policy only and rationed.

2 Votes
Specializes in ICU/ER/Med-Surg/Case Management/Manageme.
16 hours ago, PeachyERNurse said:

I totally understand rationing, but to tell us masks aren’t allowed and threatening write ups if you bring in your own is just plain crazy.

I no longer work in a hospital and in fact, my little clinic has been closed entirely. However, if I WAS a hospital nurse and was handed that kind of BS, I'd write letters to the Surgeon General, Anthony Fauci, the President and Vice-President, the Govenor of your State, your State Board of Nursing, ANA. And anyone else I could think of. Get everyone possible to sign off on the letters. Mail copies to hospital admin and the corporate entities.

I understand the need to safe-guard/ration for the potential influx of positives, but to prevent you from wearing your own mask? So often I'm so happy I'm no longer in the hospital environment!

2 Votes
Specializes in Med-Surg.

Our hospital is locking down visitation. One visitor per patient in a 24 hour period. Each visitor has their temperature checked. We have Covid-19 patient in the ICU, and another floor is being designated for Covid patients. The hospital has created a regional pool of nurses to prevent overworking of the nurses.

I have already worked with a Covid rule out patient, and I tested him. Fortunately, he was negative. They only had droplet protection on Covid patients at the time, and we had to reuse our one droplet mask all day.

1 Votes

mixed ICU in OH. hospital wisely ramping up staffing. one extremely ill covid+ patient, 6 other rule outs just in my unit. testing protocol is not adequate since mostly testing extremely ill patients with recent travel and NOT for community exposure. (not hospital's fault, it's ODH recommendation to ration tests). testing is taking a long time (5-6d). hospital is working with dept of health to get faster tests. VERY low on PPE. surgical masks, plastic face shields and 95s are being rationed. CAPRs and PAPRs are also very scarce. We are being asked to reuse PPE (even gowns). I am concerned that we will all get sick, especially respiratory therapists because their staffing numbers are already low.

1 Votes

I'm happy that our hospital has decided not to allow visitors. that went through about 2 weeks ago.

2 Votes

What is the protocol for your hospitals on going to and from work? Are y’all wearing masks to work? Wearing them throughout the hospital? Or only wearing masks with patient contact?

1 Votes
On 3/23/2020 at 11:31 PM, GOMERSOWNER2 said:

Per my hospital's press release we have '2 confirmed COVID-19 patients'. But there at least a dozen more who are very probably positive but the tests have not come back yet. We have had no deaths yet. And, that was the situation as of last Friday when I got off at 7PM after working triage in the drive through screening. There were several folk on Friday afternoon at the screening who showed fever & respiratory symptoms and were tested-of course those tests are not back either. My next door neighbor works nights at my hospital and we both have seen at least 7 patients in an old unit that has been designated as a unit to care for suspected/confirmed covid patients. We have been told there will be an additional covid unit opened by the week's end. I feel my hospital is not being candid with the public as to how many potentially positive cases we have. I also am concerned that many in my area have come in contact with at least one of the positive cases; we asked if they had been in our unit, but we were told they couldn't tell us because it would be a HIPAA violation. I get that-we did not want names, procedure, etc only if they were in our unit which we're pretty d*** certain they were. So we go about our work not sure if or when we were infected all the time knowing if we haven't been infected yet we soon will be what with the dreadful lack of PPE. We also are being told by our hospital as so many have that we will not be supplied with N95's unless it is during an intubation, suctioning, other aerosol releasing procedure. We will be using surgical masks as I'm sure a lot of you have also been told. Our N95 masks are LOCKED up. I am almost 63 and in pretty good health except for some orthopedic issues, (recent avulsion fracture L foot; sever plantar fasciitis R foot & recent R total knee...let's just say I walk like a drunk sailor!), and I am wearing an event monitor for the next 3 weeks for intermittent A-fib/PVC'S). When - not if - I care for a covid patient I would really like, and I feel I require a N95 due to my age and possible heart issues. I do not think I will get one, but I will ask for one verbally and via email. I strongly suspect I will be taking care of covid patients by the end of this week, and it would make me feel much less anxious if I had a N95 -but so would we all. Over the weekend we were informed that codes, (I'm guessing any code-need to see if they can clarify that), would be conducted differently now:

only the charge nurse would be given a N95 mask for the purpose of starting the code while awaiting the code team. That nurse is to put a surgical mask on the patient, (who is coding...hmmm....); one additional nurse with a surgical mask on would place and hold the face mask connected to the Ambu bag on the patient and turn the O2 to 15L. Then the charge nurse is to start chest compressions-NO USE OF THE AMBU BAG--no 'bagging'...wait for the code team, (hope they are not busy or far away - the hospital is a quite large teaching facility). The crash cart is to be left outside the room - even when the code team arrives. We will only be allowed to take the AED in. So, yeah, that's my hospital. Administration is being evasive about cases of covid, is subjecting us to be more easily exposed to the virus, and is deciding that all the ACLS protocols need to be changed during this crisis

Are these ACLS changes based on some evidence? Are they coming out of China?

2 Votes
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