Intensive care unit nurses said they are treating up to five COVID-19 patients at a time, though the standard is one or two. Patients on ventilators must be constantly monitored. Nurses also reported an insufficient supply of masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment.
“We are only able to provide the very basic level of care and it’s just subpar care to the patients with a five-to-one ratio,” Maria Lobifaro, RN, ICU nurse and union steward, told The Brooklyn Eagle. Ms. Lobifaro said she objected to recent pressure by management to care for a sixth intubated patient.
The VA nurses intend to hold a protest outside the hospital April 6 during shift change, according to the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United.
In March, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said local veterans with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization should be sent to the Brooklyn VA. As of April 5, the medical center had 85 COVID-19 inpatients and 115 outpatients, according to the VA’s website.
More articles on nursing:
UIC Medical Center asks nurses to clean COVID-19 patients’ rooms
ICU nurse dies from COVID-19 in Florida
‘We’re being sent to slaughter’: NYC nurse details grim conditions on COVID-19 front lines
