National Nurses United

23 Infectious Diseases Protections as financially support the ground efforts of International Medical Corps in its extensive efforts to stop Ebola (which became known as the "nurse killer" dis- ease), including direct treatment to more than 1.5 million people as well as providing protective equipment and training to local healthcare workers. Knowing it would be only a matter of time before Ebola arrived in the United States, NNU urged employers, state, and feder- al government agencies to devel- op the most protective guidelines in preparation. NNU conducted a nationwide survey of nurses with a large percentage of nurses reporting that their facilities are woefully unprepared — prompting NNU to publicly call for better emergency preparedness. With the world watching, nurses rallied across the country, introduced collective bargaining proposals, and more than 1,000 U.S. RNs and international healthcare workers held a die-in protest action in Las Vegas to voice their concerns about inadequate protection for nurses in West Africa and insuffi- cient preparedness for potential cases in the United States. Unfortunately these concerns proved well founded when the first case of Ebola in the Unit- ed States was mishandled in September 2014. After return- ing from a trip to West Africa, Thomas duncan presented at the Emergency Department of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and was initially sent home before returning again with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a fever. Duncan ultimately died and in the course of providing care, two nurses became infected with Ebola. This hospital, like so many others, was unprepared for the arrival of an Ebola patient — diag- nosis lagged, no protocols were in place, proper PPE was not supplied, and an adequate isola- tion room had not been prepared. The public health system response in the United States was too slow and completely inadequate. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention's (CDC) guidance on Ebola initially gave inadequate protections for healthcare workers, then contin- ued to change during the crises at Texas Presbyterian Hospital. This institutional failure prompt- ed the Dallas nurses to contact NNU, since we had established ourselves in the national media spotlight as fighting for the highest standards of protection for nurses. NNU nurses continued to take grassroots action, with rallies and actions across the nation, includ- ing a day of action and RN strike. These direct actions ultimately led to contract and regulatory protections for nurses. NNU lever- aged worker testimony and action to get strong interim guidelines in California. The guidance won in California is a significant victory and legally enforceable by Cal/ OSHA because of preexisting Health and Safety regulations won through NNU's efforts. Our experience with Ebola illustrates the need for strong collective bargaining, legislative and regulatory standards, as well as coordinated, continued pres- sure on state and federal agencies and grassroots action to fully protect workers. NNU/RNRN WAS ABLE SECURE A DONATION HAZMAT-STYLE FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS.

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