Nurse Quits Her Job in an ICU Filled With Coronavirus Patients Because She Wasn’t Given Proper PPE

While we’re all trying to come to terms with the harsh realities of life during a global pandemic, the medical professionals on the frontlines don’t have that luxury. Thousands of people are seriously ill, and it’s our doctors and nurses who are working around the clock to care for them.

These and other health care workers are risking their own lives because many do not have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to stay safe. For weeks, the pleas of these workers have largely gone unanswered.

And while they’re waiting for the masks, gloves, and other essential supplies they desperately need, the numbers of infected people have skyrocketed. As of April 2, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports the total cases of COVID-19 in the United States as more than 200,000. More than 4500 people have died. That includes health care workers like New Jersey emergency room doctor Frank Gabrin, who died in his husband’s arms a week after testing positive for the new coronavirus, reported CNN.  

One nurse, Imaris Vera, who lives in Chicago, managed to buy her own N95 mask to wear at work. It’s the respirator recommended by the CDC for healthcare professionals because it captures 95% of air particles when worn correctly. But Vera alleges that her manager told her she wasn’t allowed to wear it, even when caring for a COVID-19 patients in an ICU unit that had been converted to a designated COVID unit. 

Vera, who has more than three years of experience working in trauma, post-operative, cardiac, medical, surgical, and full-time critical nursing care, felt that she had no option but to quit her job. She explained in an emotional Instagram video, uploaded on March 30, that she was trying to keep herself safe and looking out for “family members who have pre-existing conditions” because “they wouldn’t get a ventilator” if they contracted COVID-19 from her. 

 

 

 

 

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I chose 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 today... ⠀ & my family members who have pre-existing conditions that wouldn’t get a ventilator if they contracted #COVID19 from me ⠀ I had a different idea in mind when I got to my #ICU this morning; I expected to see ALL OF OUR #NURSES & STAFF wearing #N95 masks but 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝘼𝙉𝙔𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙊𝙉... ⠀ Each ICU room had ‘make-shift’ ante-rooms attached to them created with plastic tarp & massive amounts of tape.. ⠀ A charge Nurse was passing out single N95 masks to nurses with a brown paper bag for them to store their mask in which was to be in inside their plastic ante-rooms & to 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚-𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚-𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙖𝙮... ⠀ I asked “well what if there’s possible contamination to that N95 mask..? What about my safety” ⠀ My manager told me “well our staff safety is our main priority right now ... if we get enough masks, we may consider having staff wear surgical masks in the weeks to come..” ⠀ I replied, “But it’s Airborne... those surgical masks won’t protect us ..” ⠀ My manager then tells me “ we’ve kept up with the CDC & it is only when the COVID patient has any aerosol type treatments like a ventilator, nasal cannula, nebulizer etc that’s it’s airborne..otherwise it’s droplet ..” ⠀ I replied “& 90% of our patients are intubated, paralyzed, & positive for COVID.. people not even in the hospital environment are spreading it .. we have to assume everyone is infected..especially in the hospital environment, & 𝕟𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕜 𝕠𝕟” ⠀ I then told her of nurses wearing a surgical droplet masks on their units & now intubated & fighting for their lives ... ⠀ Tears were streaming down my face & fog in my glasses at this point.. ⠀ I thought to myself.. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴..? ⠀ I asked one last time pleading with tears in my eyes.. ⠀ “Can I please just wear 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐍𝟗𝟓 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤... I understand we have a shortage but I have my OWN ” ⠀ My manager told me that they couldn’t allow me to wear it. ⠀ So I gave report, & left. ⠀ America is NOT prepared & Nurses are NOT safe. Plz DM me any telehealth jobs.

A post shared by ❥ Imaris | Nursing & Lifestyle (@nurse.iv) on Mar 30, 2020 at 5:43pm PDT

“I had my own N95 mask,” Vera says in the video. “I told my manager I understand we’re short on supplies. But let me protect myself. Let me feel safe. I have family that I have to come home to. And the way things are looking, this isn’t going to get any better. America is not prepared. And nurses are not being protected.” 

Vera alleges that her manager told her, “We’ve kept up with the CDC and it is only when the COVID patient has any aerosol type treatments like a ventilator, nasal cannula, nebulizer etc. that it’s airborne… otherwise it’s droplet…” 

She also claims that nurses who are treating COVID-19 patients aren’t wearing masks in the hallways of the hospital where she worked when giving reports, and that they have been instructed to reapply and reuse masks stored in brown paper bags after treating those patients. 

Sadly, Vera’s experience is common. A nurse in Missouri resigned after being told she couldn’t wear an N95 mask she’d bought herself. Not only are health care workers not getting the protection they need, but some are also being silenced by their employers. In California, a nurses union said a hospital consortium in the state threatened to fire nurses who wore their own masks to treat COVID-19 patients on the grounds of “insubordination.”  

But more and more frontline workers are speaking out. On April 2, nurses rallied at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, the US epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, demanding N95 masks, gowns, and other essential PPE. “I am a helper,” one nurse said. “But now I am a helper who needs help.” 

On April 1, Vera gave an update of her situation on Instagram Stories, explaining that she hasn’t turned her back on nursing. “I am currently looking for other COVID Nursing jobs where I know I’ll feel SAFE & not be told I can’t wear my own mask/PPE,” she wrote. “I QUIT for my safety and the safety of my family. I SHARED for the safety of Nurses and HCPs all over America. We can’t work to save lives if our lives start dwindling. (sic)”  

Meanwhile, after weeks of repeatedly saying that ordinary citizens don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick, the CDC may be back-tracking. According to Anthony Fauci, MD, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, the CDC is seriously considering recommending all Americans wear masks.

In an interview with CNN on March 31, Dr. Fauci said “a much more broad community-wide use of masks outside of the health care setting is under very active discussion at the task force.” 

However, he also echoed the fears of many—that recommending public use of masks would make the supply situation even more dire for those who need them most. 

“You don’t want to take masks away from the health care providers who are in a real and present danger of getting infected,” Dr. Fauci said. 

The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.