House/ World News/ New York nurses take legal action against state, 2 medical facilities over ‘inadequate’ coronavirus defense
The New York State Nurses Association took legal action against the state and two healthcare facilities on Monday to require them to provide safety devices and adopt procedures to prevent COVID-19 from spreading out amongst its members, highlighting the growing disagreements over work environment safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
The association sued the New york city Department of Health, Montefiore Medical Center and the moms and dad business of the Westchester Medical Center. The nurses asked judges to purchase the accuseds to offer masks and other protection to nurses.
” These lawsuits were submitted to secure our nurses, our patients and our communities from grossly inadequate and irresponsible securities,” stated a declaration from Pat Kane, the association’s executive director.
The court filings stated the medical facilities were overlooking requirements by the state’s COVID-19 job force that health care employees get an N95 respirator mask daily, and that the health department was not imposing it.
The Department of Health stated it has actually taken every action needed to make sure that healthcare workers have actually the needed assistance and supplies.
Westchester Medical Center Health Network said its focus has been on securing its labor force, while Montefiore said nurses were attacking the system while their colleagues were working to save lives.
The association represents 42,000 nurses in the state, which leads the nation with about 233,000 COVID-19 cases. The association stated that 9,514 of its registered nurses have actually tested favorable for the highly infectious breathing disease caused by the infection which 11 have actually passed away.
The association asked a state judge to block the Department of Health from implementing a directive requiring healthcare personnel to return to work just seven days after the start of COVID-19, even if they still have signs.
The nurses stated the instruction broke a state law adopted in March that supplied quarantined workers 14 days paid sick leave.
The filings explained Westchester Medical Center as “like a battle zone.”
” We have actually been advised to date our N95 respirators and to use the same N95 respirator for a week,” stated Mary-Lynn Boyts, a nurse at Westchester Medical Center, in an affidavit.
While 10s of millions of Americans have actually been laid off or are working from home, security is ending up being a flashpoint for those who are staffing grocery stores, junk food restaurants and storage facilities.
Employees have actually stayed at home from meat processing plants, which have actually been struck by coronavirus break outs, and Amazon.com Inc fired three employees who questioned the safety of its warehouses.
The head of the Teamsters union informed U.S. President Donald Trump last week that employees required greater access to protective gear and decontaminated work environments prior to returning to work.
