National Nurses United

NNU sends letter to President Trump demanding he fully invoke Defense Production Act to get more PPE produced 243,635 cases, 5,887 deaths in the United States A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 0 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 23 APRIL 2 APRIL 2 In the Trenches When New York City surged with COVID-19 cases, NNU RNs working at veterans facilities were among the hardest hit BY RACHEL BERGER A s a registered nurse, Nikki McGann knows well the tell-tale signs that indicate a person may be dangerously close to death, but nothing prepared her for the night one of those signs appeared on her own body. "I looked down at my thighs and I saw that my thighs were mottled, and I thought to myself: 'Oh my god,'" she recalled. "As a nurse, when we see patients mottled, we know that they are pretty close to leaving us." McGann is one of 110 nurses who became ill with COVID-19 while working at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility or hospital represented by National Nurses United. Across the VA system, 31 employees have died from COVID. While McGann was fighting for her life at her home in the Bronx, Maria Lobifaro was fighting a different battle in her Brooklyn intensive care unit. "The load is unbearable," said Lobifaro, a registered nurse for 10 years. "Ninety-percent of the shifts are just complete chaos. Just so many things to be done and the patients are just so, so very sick." While NNU members across the country have been caring for high volumes of COVID patients, New York City was one of the few major cities in the United States to truly experience the type of massive patient surge that everybody dreaded. Within New York City, NNU mainly represents nurses who work in the VHA system. And with city hospitals overwhelmed by the rush of COVID-19 patients, these VA facilities were called on to admit non-veteran COVID-19 patients in desperate need of medical care. By the first of April, Lobifaro found herself one of just three nurses caring for 15 patients, all ventilated, heavily sedated, and on numerous IV drips. "Prior to COVID it was rare to have more than two critical care patients," said Lobifaro. "This gave me the opportunity to give my patients special care and attention, whether that be a thorough bath on the weekend or a nice shave for the holidays. But now with five patients all I can do is run in and out of the room and handle the basics." At one point in the night, Lobifaro's manager came to her and said she wanted to bring another patient onto the floor. Lobifaro, who was the charge nurse on shift, put her foot down, "I don't care who they call. They can call upper management. Honestly, Jesus Christ himself could come down from the cross and take care of this patient, that's fine, but it's not going to be one of my nurses." Nikki McGann, RN

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