Despite hospitals’ best efforts to prepare this fall’s virus surge, many facilities still are struggling with low supplies of personal protective equipment and staff shortages, which could put patients at risk, nurses told the Times.
“We’re worse off in some ways than we were in the beginning,” said Shalon Matthews, an RN who works in the emergency room at Montefiore New Rochelle (N.Y.) Hospital. “We need staff, we need help, we need resources. I’m fearful for my patients, and I’m fearful that the same thing that happened back in March, it’s going to happen again — and once again, we’re not prepared.”
Many nurses at the hospital report higher patient loads than in the spring. In recent weeks, some have taken on at least four patients in the intensive care unit, or seven at a time in the emergency room, according to Kathy Santoiemma, RN, a union leader and longtime nurse at Montefiore New Rochelle.
Meanwhile, nurses at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center are voicing concerns about PPE and safety protocols at the hospital, which recently had a COVID-19 outbreak in an oncology unit that infected at least eight patients and 14 employees, according to the New York State Nurses Association.
Albany Medical Center spokesperson Matt Markham told the Times that the hospital has more than a 90-day supply of PPE and that staff members are not required to reuse a mask if they feel uncomfortable using it.
Editor’s note: Becker’s has reached out to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital for comment and will update the article as more information is available.
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