Some doctors say they are being told they can't use their own personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks.Some doctors say they are being told they can't use their own personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks.Neilly Buckalew is a traveling doctor who fills in at hospitals when there's need. So in the midst of this pandemic, she feels particularly vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus — not just in hospitals but in hotels and on her travels.
Buckalew's account lays bare tensions between some hospital systems and health care workers on the front lines of this disease. Many doctors, nurses and other hospital workers say they don't feel protected and are afraid in the midst of a shortage of masks and other protective gear. Some are bringing their own supplies donated by friends and family or purchased at hardware stores.
Moreno said about two dozen people have formally complained to her organization. She said they've also received hundreds of calls from health care workers who are afraid to lose their jobs if they complain, but also feel that hospitals aren't letting them do what they need to do to protect themselves against an infectious and new virus.
The hospitals would be extremely unwise to fire any healthcare worker at this time.
Is this really the time for hospitals to be firing doctors?
And yet the internet freaks out when a town in Texas requires masks be worn in buildings, which the damn choice do y'all want?
This story should include the name and position of the person who told the Doctor this. Attempts should be made to contact that person and the name and title of the person who prevented the contact should be included.
Ridiculous
Just allow doctors to do as they please. Hospital administration isn’t working to do the right thing they are looking to profit that is all
Time for trump and his lost admin to hand ALL of this to. The DOD to run! FEMA is drowning, the civilian leaders are drowning, testing is off track, move all leadership to DOD
They should take the option to lose their jobs rather than their lives. They can get another job, not another life. And the country can’t afford to lose a doc now.
Is this true? What is the reasoning behind it?
Class warfare perpetrated as always, by the wealthy
Quit your job.... quit. It’s not worth it. No mask:no job! I can’t wait for the health care professionals uprising
AnnNyberg Well the medical professionals have a right to defend themselves against germs and this virus just the same as a person has the right to stand their ground and shoot someone. Funny how rules are changed...
But why?
And what're the hospitals gonna do during this pandemic - fire their doctors?
Thats just wrong and stupid!!
Not just doctors, but other healthcare workers that are in close contact with patients for prolonged periods of time. Like my husband, a cardiac sonographer who performs stress tests. What could possibly go wrong?
A--hole maneuver. Wear the PPE. Lean on your logistics staff.
What’s the reasoning?
How can these hospitals be in the healthcare business and be so stupid?
wtf
we need to have the names of people that are saying this, then when a gp dies & is proven to be because of lack of proper equipment at least a criminal charge can apply, either at all levels do your jobs,if not a collapsing health service due to lack of staff is not good, wake up
I would walk out nothing is worth your life! Let the ceo save people
CLICK BAIT
Doctor's should be running things , not administrators.
For anyone that is ticked off about this, feel free to drop a question on their Facebook pages. I've heard of more hospitals doing the same - we HAVE to call them out en masse, demand answers & demand better to ProtectOurFrontliners COVIDー19
We might need all doctors and nurses to do a national walkout!
This was definitely happening and just starting to improve, according to someone I know working at a large public hospital 🙄 Initially to not scare patients (another 🙄)
Doctors should have spoken up sooner, they were silent when hospital administrators sent people to die, because they were under insured. Now the corporate bean counters are killing doctors and nurses!
why?
Face masks are a necessity for everyone.
Take the risk of losing your job. Eff these administrators. Do what you need to do to feel safe!!
The general population is wearing masks in the supermarket. Let them wear masks in the hospitals.
That is an infection control policy. I worked in a hospital for over 26 years and the policy has always been when you leave an isolation room you dispose of your PPE before entering the hallway.
American health care industry and COVID-19. Each day they achieve yet another feat of insanity.
I heard this same thing from my daughter who is a nurse
They won’t fire them if they all stick together! All HCP need masks and gloves!!!! normarae
Shouldn’t we be hiring doctors not firing doctors right now?
The doctors may not know they are infected and seeing people with health issues without a mask? Jesus Christ.
So dumb, if aerosolized, this stuff is in the air for like 3 days. People are asymptomatic. They are endangering the doctors.
This makes absolutely no sense
It's worth noting that a hospital that prevents workers from protecting themselves is a disaster waiting to happen
Yes, you will be put on leave or fired
WHO would say that.
I can't wear a face mask at my pharmacy. I fought tooth and nail in order to wear gloves.
Fake
Seems hospitals care more about their bottom dollar and silencing dissent than they do about health and safety. Hospital administrators: one of the biggest wastes of healthcare spending.
KeckMedUSC provides mask to employees as they walk into work at Keck Hospital or Norris Cancer Hospital. Fight on! ✌️
what's the point of this rule?
BUT WHY?!? Wouldn’t you want tour staff protected?
What a load, seriously, they're already putting their lives on th line just by being there!
terrible. its killing many many people
And our hospital mandates them for all employees 24/7. Proper practices and treatment that are best for staff and patients should predominate over shortsighted administration
That is ludicrous.
The administration officials making these rules should be doing job shadowing.
jake_j_jung Meanwhile ↓ Consistency would be nice...
Huh? Crazy
Idiocy everywhere
I know for a fact this is happening at our local facilities-too many healthcare workers are being placed at risk
But why?
WTF
I just can't even with this world anymore. It's like 2020 got here and everyone has lost their gd minds.
Time to use your leverage (you). They can’t afford to lose you.
I would DARE them to fire me: “Go ahead. Fire my happy ass. I’ll be delighted to shelter at home with my family. And when the sh*t hits the fan and the corpses are stacking up like cordwood, you’re going to wish you hadn’t thrown away a good pair of hands.”
Dortors will be on a strike if masks not allowed.
Sadly this is true, at the hospital I work at all employees were told to not wear masks out in the halls or if we're walking around
Where was all this BS under Hussein and H1N1?
Power in numbers: doctors and nurses should unify in protest against such policy. Watch how fast these rules are reversed when the sick keep pouring in and there's no one to treat them.
This isn’t fair. It isn’t safe. It isn’t taking care of our people. Both front liners and patients. 🤦🏼♀️
jimmy_dore dhlovelife BernieSanders AOC IlhanMN JoeBiden TulsiGabbard AndrewYang jengolbeck DrRandPaul abigaildisney wolfman2000 CryptoEuclid CryptoFinally SenWarren KyleKulinski SenMcSallyAZ SenTomCotton RepThomasMassie
If true, you’re doing right bringing to attention of people! We ALL should be lauding our HealthCareHeros being there! Putting their lives on the line every shift, should garner an atmosphere that is an AttitudeofGratitude from their superiors & colleagues!
I can’t imagine hospitals would be firing healthcare workers over that right now
Why?!?!?
Theres an almost blind and unquestioning adherence to meeting the current CDC guidelines, which themselves have evolved
They need to stay firm for their safety, take an absolute stand, united in protecting themselves. Show respect to them for what they already do so selflessly. Thanks to the medical teams, doctors, nurses, staff, caregivers, first responders and to everyone else still working.
Why not...Who cares if the doctor wears a mask 😷 as long as you can help cure me...
Everyone has a right to attempt to protect themselves from COVID19. Is there a scientific reason for not wearing ones from home? I dont see an issue unless someone else touches your face and that would be a big HELL NAH
I'd say doctors around the country can say fuck off with impunity.
Yep. I know someone who works at a physical therapy office and their boss did not want them to wear a face mask because it might make the clients concerned. This person was told they could work in the back if they were worried
When did doctors lose control of medicine to the corporate clones?
cfbronco I think Doctors should be calling the shots on matters like this. They should all stick together to uphold the Hippocratic oath that they, and NOT the administration, took. They are the front line. Their say carries all the weight.
Then leave!! You're better of!!
Hmmm...hospitals firing doctors because they're wearing a face mask.
I'd be pissed if I went to a doctor's office and they were not wearing PPE. Keeps the doctor and the patient safe. Wtf is wrong with people?!
Pretty sure they'd approve of him carrying a gun to work. So.
My nurse wife said they've been told they cant wear them in the halls for that reason.
That is what you get when you let MBAs and business people run hospitals !
LarryWoods16 👎
Glad the public is starting to see what working in healthcare can be like and I appreciate their support. Thankfully, my hospital system has been well prepared and supportive. Others haven’t been so lucky.
The hospitals can't fire them right now, they should flout the stupid directive and wear whatever protective gear they're able to cobble together anyway.
That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve heard.
madamyez Department of Labor USDOL should be stepping in and protecting our front line public health people!
So one person's ignorance is just as important and valid as another person's knowledge? Wow... the Fox News cult really has won.
It would scare me if they weren't wearing a mask, you can catch it from a doctor or nurse just like anyone else.
racquets100 This is a classic example of why the Capitalist system has no place in medical practice.
FoodLion isnt allowing employees to protect themselves either
Calling bs on this. These people are being put in an impossible position. Put on your masks and keep saving the lives of these ingrates. Bless you all.
Lots of “many” and “some” descriptors in this report but no substantive data to help determine if this is an isolated problem or something bigger.
Idiots.
IT IS the hospital’s duty to EDUCATE the patients, and PROTECT the health frontliners.
Holy hell!
It’s the almighty $$
Your guest also claimed 'some doctors took mask home' but then claimed 'mask they had worn' a few minutes later. realDonaldTrump was right again!
This was occurring at a post acute care facility I work at! An extremely vulnerable population and this is NEGLECT. Rule 1 do no harm.
A doctor in TEXAS ....location says it all...red state...such ignornce, Texas, Georgia, Florida
This is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard, especially coming from hospitals, for real
Educate the public at the door so they know what to expect. Never put medical personnel at risk..
Huh! What idiots are running the hospitals?
Meanwhile we’re sending PPE to other countries thank you Mr. President for protecting your own citizens I thought you was a nationalist. I guess you don’t know what that means. America first?
Just went to get my allergy shots - nurses and receptionist wearing mask and gloves. I wore a surgical mask. Only 1 patient allowed in office at once. I wouldn’t want to be treated at a hospital that doesn’t follow standard practice in a Pandemic 😳
Why is everyone in power acting like their brains are broken? This is a manageable situation if people make good decisions. This is a very stupid thing to enforce. You have to work really hard to be this stupid.
I'de be scared if med providers didn't mask-up. Scared if masks were printed w/ trump's face. Scared if receptionist tells me doc is too ill to see. Scared to wake-up in a refrigerated truck. Really pissed if refrigeration was off.
Numerous complaints in my field of geriatrics such as if healthcare workers need to wear a mask they don't need to be working. - Arrogance in the elderly community, God love them. It's a privilege to have an N95 mask, whether it keeps germs in or out, it's considerate to all.
So much for stop the spread. We would not want to scare the customers by using PPE's appropriately.
Isn't that illegal?
We have many friends who are working at hospitals and they were told the same. They are jeopardizing their employees health, hospital lawsuits coming to a court near you!
Nothing to do with scaring patient. They just do not have them and trying to make up BS reasons. The sector that makes Trillion of dollars a year, so god damn stupid to protect the people who make them all this money. Hell, is too nice for all of them.
Coronavirus enters through the eyes as well. How does a mask protects the eyes?
Don’t all dentists have to wear masks? How is this different at the doctors office?
wtf?
Excuse them what now? They're in a fking hospital. Masks are worn pretty much by everyone (when they can get them now, apparently). HOW IN THE FKING HELL IS A MASK GOING TO SCARE PATIENTS? NOT wearing one during THIS PANDEMIC is more scary than that shit!
Your picture is a surgical mask not a N95. That creates confusion... accuracy matters
What. The. Fuck.
calling bs on this story
The CEO for encompasshlth should be loaded on to an infected cruise ship without any protective gear and then be asked what scars him more, a doctor or the virus.
There are medical pros quitting due to inadequate protections. Remember - their mission is to save lives, not self-sacrifice their own due to image.
This is BS. They should be able protect themselves
This is so wrong
'The University Medical Center of El Paso said in a statement that Nikicicz was removed from the schedule by Somnia Anesthesia for 'insubordination.'' ...and there goes the South. *glares*
This makes no sense at all. You’re worried about dying & a doctor comes in wearing a mask — that protects YOU by the way — and THAT scares you?
I thought masks were ineffective against the coronavirus? That's what us commoners are told anyway...
IS this the Twilight Zone? FFS!!!
Hey .JohnCornyn what is wrong with the Texans in charge?
The people need a list of hospitals that are doing this. PLEASE
The stupidity of having non-medical professionals running medical systems and having power to tell Dr's what to do. Boggles the mind how stupid that is.
Why are they being so draconian? The hospital I work in mandates everyone wears masks all the time and non-DPC staff can wear homemade masks.
Patients should be scared. Not by their physicians wearing masks. But if it helps scare us into compliance, so be it. Doctors and providers should wear whatever protective gear they believe they need.
I would have turned around and went home no PPE no Doctor. Get your shit strait hospitals or lose doctors to other states.
Why?
THANK YOU MR ANDREW CUOMO FOR BEING A TRUE LEADER WHO BRINGS HOPE THROUGH TRUTH! I AM LEAVING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND PRAY TO GOD YOU WILL BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. OUR DEEPEST PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU SIR.
Dont let any idiotic employer tell you you cannot protect yourself
WTH What have we evolved to? This is NOT one big reality show but it sure feels like it.
I think I'd be more scared of a doctor not in a mask.
not cool
Send body bags
What?
Glad to see my hometown of El Paso is still filled with all the idiots I escaped.
The CDCgov PPE recommendations are criminal to healthcare workers. Their recommendations are not based on the facts, but driven by the lack of supply.
I think the limiting step here are administrators. We need more people in scrubs and less people in suits. The suits are not essential. They don’t know medicine. They can go work from home.
My employer is damn near having us wear PPE to check our work email accounts from home.
Sounds like the bullshit we're experiencing here at the VA.
They want us to die.
The mask helped her to leave the terrible hospital. The hospital does not deserve to have her.
What shitholes
The headline is misleading.
Isn’t the USA a democratic nation, respecting one’s freedom? Does wearing a mask hurt something? Or anyone?
umcelpaso What say you? Most other hospitals provide additional PPE for intubations because of the higher possibility of aerosolizing per the WHO Why are you not protecting your teams? GetMePPE
Yes this is true at Kaiser, I know first hand from my sister who is an RN there.
The pattern seems to be that as soon as there is publicity, these heroes are getting their jobs back. Keep exposing this negligence!
what is hospital malpractice/ Negligence liability if a person is infected visiting because (not given Ppe ),so hospital doesn’t allow?
I'm not sure if I believe this
Bullshit.
Thank you for highlighting these cases. Every bit of sunshine seems to lead to changes in the wrong behavior of the health institutions. What if their accrediting body started asking questions about protective gear?
ChrisMurphyCT , SenBlumenthal jahimes Surely Congress has to scream for this to stop. Hospital Administrators are unexplainably making things worse! This should be illegal!
My wife was in radiology and had blood work done at our local Kaiser Hospital twice this week. Employees were not wearing masks or gloves and one day made her take hers off. Inexplicable.
This is a complete outrage and absolutely disgusting. The people behind this should be ashamed of themselves. Anyone working directly with COVID19 patients should be protected; if not by their employer than by themselves if that's how they need to get it done.
I was able to secure surgical and a few N95’s for my wife who is a nurse at an assisted living facility and I am begging her to wear the N95 and to not worry what others think. It is selfish in a way, but I am not going to apologize for getting her the resources to survive.
Sue those hospitals for endangerment
Think these are individual incidents. Doctors and nurses in my local healthcare facilities started wearing masks a few weeks ago.
mmmmmthatgirl This underscores how the RESPONSE to COVID-19 is as FLAWED as can be when 'appearances matter more than reality.' As an aside, if someone bought a better mask for themselves at work, too bad to the other employees. Why should all INCREASE RISK to avoid 'hurt feelings?'
ZDoggMD whoa buddy!!
I heard the same thing about how they are not letting some nurses where masks at some hospitals
Unbelievable! Can she appeal?
This is disgrace & she should sue hospital for wrongful termination.
Yep. True story.
This is what happens when you get an administration that sends mixed messages & does not prioritize human lives unless it relates to regulating women’s wombs. Covid_19
This is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect if hospitals were run by businessmen.
Lucky her. She should celebrate.
Seems like a typical one sided NPR hit piece! Stop trying to beat a dead dog!
Miss_Placed_ one can only hope her refusal saves her life and she also sues and wins
what the actual fuck
On a philosophical level we as a society need to dis-empower people (even hospital administrators) that are trying to 'PR' their way through REAL Medical emergencies. The people making these decisions are probably telecommuting.
That is frightening!!! Like sending police officers into a gunfight without having bullet proof vest, shields or guns. Or sending fire fighters into a burning building with no masks, and squirt guns to put out the flames.
I have a feeling there’s more to this story. This sounds like a Jussie Smollett story. Just too ridiculous to be true. Plus headline is misleading
Has anyone looked into the conspiracy that 5G might be causing all this and it’s really not a conspiracy, just wondering
I wonder what TJCommission would say? Let’s see...
The corporation in charge is SaintAlsHealth please find a way to tag them. They need to be held accountable.
Remember, Cnn and Surgeon_General said mask are not effective for preventing the spread of this virus, and this was nearly a month into specifying n95 mask were the mask of subject
'So she donned her own fitted N95 mask that she uses for work.' One mask worn in a hotel around coughing people, brought into sterile environment? Healthcare heroes deserve so much more than having to make these sketchy decisions. ☹️
Unbelievable! Our doctors are dressing like this
The picture you show is of a surgical mask - not an n95. I don’t think a person could make a “homemade” n95?
Let the hospital enjoy running without doctors.
I don't believe this.
I’ll bet Putin and Merkle wish their doctors wore masks.
As a former NICU RN, I am appalled this is happening.
Fake
WTF?
This is happening in my town as well. Nurses are not allowed to wear a mask even though covid patients are a floor above. It only makes sense to protect yourself and others. This virus is extremely contagious right?
Again one side of the story with considering the whole story. NPR spreading misinformation again.🤷♀️ Just another player in escalating chaos’s and fear!
Hospital administrators are more about looking good instead of anything else. We're having the same issue in my area with some store owners telling workers that they can't wear them because it'll 'scare' customers. It's all about pretending that nothing is happening.
When they terminate you for wearing PPE
Your likely to die without masks or proper PPE as the viral load is high in ER. This is despicable.
You’re not allowed to bring your own PPE in to the hospital. That’s the issue. Not saying it’s right but that’s the rule she broke. Conveniently left out of the NPR headline though.
The termination probably saved her life. But let’s elect the guy who wants to keep propping up corrupt, for profit healthcare, seems logical. NeverBiden
Grow up kid. Do as your employer tells you.
I thought from the headline that these hospitals wanted staff to wear hospital-issued masks. No. They want them to wear nothing because others would want masks, or that it didn't look good. Horrible.
Looks like hospitals care more about their image and bottomline than the lives of their patients and workers. Either that or this COVID19 is a lot of hype. Those are the only explanations behind the hospital's actions.
Pretty sure she’d get hired anywhere about now
Why are doctors and nurses being terminated when it's the administrative and higher up not doing their jobs? If we can provide safety gear to the doctors and nurses then we're killing the ones who can help us.
I Want my health care folks to wear a mask - at all times - heck now “they” are talking of everyone wearing a mask when out of our homes -
It's hard to take NPR seriously.
Sound familiar humantodolist
This makes no sense at all. Can you say ass backward thinking. We are in a Pandemic and you have a Dr. there ready and able to help and you are turning them away? Whose life didnt get saved because of this action?
wtf
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