National Nurses United

O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 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 7 not using respiratory protection when caring for patients who might have Covid-19 but who have not been tested or whose test results are pending. In comparison, more than 70 per- cent of hospital RNs report using N95s for Covid-19 patients. In order to protect nurses and other patients, hospitals must ensure that patients who are suspected of having Covid-19 have the same precautions in place as con- firmed Covid-19 patients. Short staffing is increasingly an even big- ger problem in hospitals, with 30 percent of nurses reporting that it is their number one safety concern. Nearly half of hospital nurses (42 percent) report that staffing has gotten slightly or much worse recently. In addition, 20 percent of nurses report being reassigned to units where new skills or com- petencies are required, without adequate training. Employers are forcing nurses to go to work sick, rather than stay home. Paid sick leave is an important and proven measure to protect the health of nurses, other health care workers, and their patients. But only 36 percent of hospital RNs reported always being able to stay home when they have influenza or Covid-like symptoms. The survey also found that Covid-19 is having a deep impact on the mental health of nurses, with more than 70 percent of nurses in hospitals reporting that they are afraid of getting Covid-19 and 80 percent fearing that they will infect a family mem- ber. • Half of hospital nurses report they have more difficulty sleeping than before the pan- demic. • Nearly 80 percent of hospital RNs report feeling more stressed than before the pandemic. • Nearly three-quarters of nurses report feeling more anxious. • 62 percent report feeling more sad or depressed. About 20 percent of nurses report facing increased workplace violence on the job, which they attribute to decreasing staffing levels, changes in the patient population, and visitor restrictions. The survey results were gathered from both NNU unionized nurse members as well as nonunion nurses in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and two U.S. territories. The preliminary results cover the period Oct. 16 to Nov. 9. —Chuleenan Svetvilas CALIFORNIA I n late november, nurses in the Golden State scored a tremendous vic- tory for the type of infection control measures they have been demanding since the start of the pandemic when the Cali- fornia Department of Public Health (CDPH) directed all general acute-care hospitals in the state to begin Covid-19 weekly testing of all health care workers on Dec. 14 and to imme- diately start testing all patient admissions. Importantly, CDPH is directing that health care personnel with symptoms of Covid-19 be tested right away. Against hospital industry complaints, the California Nurses Association fought hard to win this directive. "This is an amazing and welcome move," said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, a Bay Area RN and a president of CNA as well as NNU. "We applaud California for being a leader in requiring this type of testing program because it is desperately needed to fight this virus. There are simply too many asympto- matic people with Covid, and without robust testing, our hospitals will remain centers for spreading the disease instead of centers of healing as they should be." CDPH informed hospitals through an all-facilities letter on Nov. 25 of this new requirement. Hospitals could start testing "high-risk personnel" earlier, on Dec. 7, but testing of all health care personnel offi- cially began Dec. 14. Health care personnel (HCP) are defined as "all paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including body substances (e.g., blood, tissue, and specific body fluids); contaminated med- ical supplies, devices, and equipment; contaminated environmental surfaces; or contaminated air. HCP include, but are not limited to, emergency medical service per- sonnel, nurses, nursing assistants, physicians, technicians, therapists, phlebotomists, pharmacists, students and trainees, con- tractual staff not employed by the health- care facility, and persons not directly involved in patient care, but who could be exposed to infec- tious agents that can be transmitted in the healthcare setting (e.g., clerical, dietary, environmental services, laundry, security, engineering and facilities management, administrative, billing, and volunteer per- sonnel)." In addition to the testing of staff and patients, hospitals must have a program that includes policies and procedures addressing the use of test results, including: • How results will be explained to staff • How to communicate information about any positive cases of staff in the facility to responsible parties • How results will be tracked for staff at the facility and methods for reporting results to CDPH and the local health department • How results will be used to guide implementation of infection control meas- ures, including plans for notification and testing of other staff and patients exposed to positive staff • A procedure for addressing staff that decline or are unable to be tested • Plans to address potential staffing shortages for positive staff who are excluded from work "This testing requirement has been a long time coming," said Cathy Kennedy, a Sacra- mento-area RN and a president of CNA and executive vice president of NNU. "We nurses knew this was needed and fought together to make it happen. Now hospitals in the rest of the country just need to do the same to get this virus under control." —Lucia Hwang California nurses score huge testing win State directs hospitals to begin weekly Covid testing of all health care staff and patients

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