Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

25 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE Hospital workers upset over COVID-19 vaccine distribution By Ayla Ellison W hile COVID-19 vaccine rollout has gone smoothly at many healthcare organizations, phy- sicians and nurses at hospitals in Arizona, California, New York and elsewhere said vaccine distribution at their facilities has been chaotic and unfair, according to NPR. Employees at Mass General Brigham in Boston signed up for vaccinations using an app. The app crashed after too many people tried to sign up at once, but issues were reported after the app was back up and running. Jennifer DeVincent, who has been a neo- natal intensive care nurse at Mass General Brigham for 16 years, described the vac- cine distribution process as a "free-for-all." Though the plan was for hospital workers at the highest risk to be vaccinated first, the system relied on an honor code that al- lowed employees to "self-police," according to emails obtained by NPR. Ms. DeVincent said she became angry when she realised some of the first employees to get the shots are in low-risk categories and don't do hands-on patient care. Paul Biddinger, MD, medical director for emergency preparedness at Mass General Brigham, said the honor code is necessary because it's "relatively complex to figure out who is working where" at an organization with a staff of more than 80,000. Dr. Biddinger said the data shows it's rare for a worker to jump the line, and Mass General Brigham is developing clearer guidelines for vaccine distribution. In New York City, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital Chief Operating Officer Craig Albanese, MD, said he was "disappointed and saddened" aer staff cut the line to get vaccinated, accord- ing to e New York Times. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital was one of the facilities where staff told the Times they're upset with how COVID-19 vaccines are being distrib- uted. e most exposed healthcare workers, including those working directly with COVID-19 patients, were supposed to re- ceive the COVID-19 vaccine first. However, within 48 hours of the first doses arriving, some employees at NewYork-Presbyte- rian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital received access to the vaccine despite being in low-risk categories, according to the Times. Some of the employees who received the vaccine worked from home during the pandemic. In Arizona's Maricopa County, where the county government is responsible for dis- tribution, the vaccine rollout was described by one physician as "a bit disorganized and ripe for exploitation," according to NPR. ough the county surveyed healthcare workers and tried to prioritize them for the vaccine, many are scrambling to find work- arounds, according to the report. n 'A quiet growing epidemic': Violence against healthcare workers has persisted for years unresolved By Erica Carbajal N urses and healthcare workers have been spot- lighted as heroes throughout the pandemic, but they've been susceptible to workplace violence and abuse for years with little done to prevent it, a Dec. 10 investigation from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found. Currently, no federal requirement exists for hospitals to have workplace violence prevention plans, despite data showing healthcare workers are five times more likely to be injured by workplace violence than any other private-sector industry, according to the Journal Sentinel. As a result, many hospitals lack basic safety measures like metal detectors and medical chart warnings documenting disruptive patient history. Moreover, California is the only state required to provide annual security spending reports. Reports from California show that security spending accounts for just 0.5 percent of hospitals' total budget. Across the country, a large portion of hospital system profits are instead allocated toward mergers and acquisitions, updated amenities, and executive salaries. Jesse Telford, RN, an emergency department nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth (Mass.), was attacked and bit in October by a patient with a violent criminal background, he told the Journal Sentinel. Mr. Tel- ford was sent to the ER waiting room to tell the belligerent patient, Michael Carlson, to calm down, or he would be asked to leave. In the absence of security guards or police officers stationed in the ER, Mr. Telford was punched and spit on while he waited for security officials to finally restrain the patient. When Mr. Telford approached Mr. Carlson, he was unaware of the patient's violent history. "I'm a nurse," Mr. Telford said. "This isn't what I do. It just keeps happening all the time. I don't know how they get away with not doing anything about it to keep us safe." Officials from the hospital told the Journal Sentinel they have since stationed a local police officer in the ER during evening hours. Mr. Telford's story was one of many dramatic hospital workplace attacks and assaults documented in the report. Security experts said simple measures — such as installing metal detectors, panic buttons and medical chart alerts — would help reduce such violence. Despite that, many hospital systems often wait until a serious injury or death occurs before they activate more security measures, the investigation found. n

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