WATCH Sacred Nurse Quit After Being Asked To Work Without Mask In COVID-19 Unit
Instagram COVID 19: “America Is Not Prepared And Nurses Are Not Being Protected”
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Imaris in the Instagram video said, “I quit my job today. I went into work, and I was assigned to a COVID patient on an ICU unit that has been converted to a designated COVID unit. None of the nurses are wearing masks, not even surgical masks, in the hallways when they’re giving reports to each other. I had my own N95 mask. I told my manager, I understand we’re short on supplies but let 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 gonna get better.”
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She added in the end, “America is not prepared and nurses are not being protected.”
Although a charge nurse was passing out single N95 masks to nurses with a brown paper bag for them to store their mask. A single mask was to be reused all day per nurse.
Imaris also shared details of the interaction she had with her manager where she asked the manager about possible contamination to that N95 mask. Her manager told her that, “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..”
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When she pointed out that not wearing an N95 mask would expose her to the airborne virus, her manager told her that, “ 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 ..”
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To this, Imaris pointed out to her manager that “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.”
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Her manager was not budging, that is when Imaris asked her manager if she could wear her own N85 Mask, “I understand we have a shortage but I have my own,” she said.
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Her manager told her that they couldn’t allow her to wear the mask.
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So she gave a report to the hospital and left.
On her Instagram story, Imaris posted the following after posting her quitting video. “I just want everyone to know: I have never and will never turn my back on nursing. I am currently looking for other COVID nursing jobs where I know I’ll feel safe and not be told I can’t wear my own mask/PPE. 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 on saving lives if our lives start dwindling.”
