Becker's Hospital Review

68 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Nurses say changing guidelines, unsafe conditions are pushing them to quit By Gabrielle Masson S ome front-line nurses have decided to quit their jobs, citing inadequate protection against the novel coronavi- rus and fear for their safety, along with that of their families, according to NBC News. Nearly 10,000 healthcare workers have test- ed positive for COVID-19, according to a CDC survey conducted Feb. 12 to April 9. Actual numbers are estimated to be much higher due to slow data collection and a high number of asymptomatic cases. At least 79 nurses have died from COVID-19, the American Nurses Association said May 7. Many nurses said CDC protocols hav- en't prioritized their safety and have made them feel expendable. As N95 mask supply dwindled, commercial grade masks, surgi- cal masks and, in some cases, homemade masks were all recommended by the CDC, which did not return a request for com- ment from NBC News. e guidelines are not backed up by research showing such masks offer protection from the virus. Kelly Stanton, RN, a former nurse at a Wash- ington, D.C.-area hospital with 28 years of experience, said the hospital she worked at gave nurses limited access to an already low stockpile of protective equipment and asked nurses to reuse single-use masks. Each time a safety regulation changed, Ms. Stanton said she began to feel more like "a sheep sent to slaughter." By late March, she resigned. "ings they were telling us we had to now do, you would've been fired if we did that three weeks before," Ms. Stanton told NBC News. "How is this suddenly OK?" A survey of more than 1,200 nurses from over 400 hospitals found that 61 percent of respondents said they are planning to quit either their jobs or the profession altogeth- er, according to results published April 9 by Holliblu, an online community for nurses "We didn't sign up to be sacrificial lambs. We didn't sign up to fight a deadly disease without adequate resources," Rebecca, a nurse in Albuquerque, N.M., told NBC News. e consequential psychological effect on nurses will be profound and long-lasting, according to Liz Stokes, RN, director of the ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights. "Nurses were already burned out before, and this pandemic might push many of them completely out." n Northwell gives front-line staff $2,500 bonus By Ayla Ellison N ew Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health is giving front-line staff respond- ing to the COVID-19 pandemic a $2,500 lump-sum payment and a week of paid time off. Physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and others involved in direct patient care are eligi- ble for the bonus and PTO, as are housekeepers, environmental services workers and others. The health system said about 45,000 workers are el- igible for the payments and supplemental PTO. "Our dedicated staff's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of heroic," Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling said in a release. "Thanks to the courage and commitment of our front-line caregivers, we answered the call in service to the patients and communities who entrust us with their care." Northwell, a 23-hospital system, sees more than 2 million patients annually. Since the COVID-19 crisis began in early March, the system's hos- pitals have treated and discharged more than 6,000 patients. n 1 in 5 physicians hit with pay cut or furlough due to COVID-19, survey says By Alia Paavola A bout 1 in 5 physicians had experienced a furlough or pay cut by mid-April during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey from physician recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins. The survey includes responses collected April 11-13 from 842 phy- sicians in primary care and specialty medicine. The survey examined how physicians are being affected and are responding to the pandemic. Four findings: 1. Less than half of physician respondents, 38.5 percent, said they were seeing or treating COVID-19 patients. Most said they were not. 2. Of those who said they were not seeing COVID-19 patients, 60 percent said they would be willing to see them. 3. Forty-eight percent of physicians said they were treating patients through telehealth. 4. About 30 percent of physicians not seeing COVID-19 patients had received a pay cut or had been placed on furlough. About 18 per- cent of physicians seeing COVID-19 patients had received a pay cut or had been placed on furlough. n

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