83 residents at Calif. nursing home hit by coronavirus evacuated after staff fails to show for work

[SheltieLover]

[link:https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/04/09/residents-calif-nursing-home-hit-by-coronavirus-evacuated-after-staff-fails-show-work/|

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) - Dozens of patients were evacuated from a skilled nursing facility in California, where 50 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, after employees failed to show up for work two days in a row.

A total of 83 patients of the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside, California, were moved Wednesday to other healthcare locations in the county. More than 50 ambulances responded for the effort, according to county officials.

“I am concerned this could rise to the level of abandonment, no matter how justified the reasoning might be,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, at a Wednesday news conference. “The state licensing board will have to determine.”

“I spoke to a nurse this morning, early. She was reporting to work,” one man said. “She was very upset about the fact that people would be leaving. She also mentioned that there had been a lot of discussion amongst the staff of fear.”

Now they are going afyer medical licenses of those who refuse to work without appropriate protection. Anyone surprised?

The abandonment was perpetrated by trump when he refused to do his damned job! 🤬

And title should not use work "fails!" Instead it should say "refused."

[live love laugh]

1. Minimum wages should never be paid to those caring

for the infirm. Nursing homes are sued all the time for negligence which stems from too low wages. They aren’t paid enough to risk their lives. Few are.

[Hortensis]

2. "WAPO: Officials learned something was amiss Monday when they received

notice that the Riverside facility “had made a large staffing request for the next day which was considered an unusual event,” Kaiser said. The request came just days after testing confirmed an outbreak of covid-19 at the center.

Upon contacting the nursing home, Kaiser (county official) said he was informed that a “substantial portion” of employees had not come in for their shifts.

On Tuesday, only one certified nursing assistant out of the 13 scheduled to work showed up, which prompted facilities nearby to send more than 30 of their own nurses to the center, according to a news release from the county.

The staffing problem persisted into Wednesday morning, Kaiser said at the news conference, leaving him with no choice but to order the evacuation “to safeguard the well-being of the residents and ensure appropriate continuity of care.”

Bruce Barton, director of the county’s emergency management department, told reporters that Wednesday’s operation involved 53 ambulances as well as assistance from the fire department and police.

This story is both grim and reassuring. The nursing home company did NOT notify the county, but the failure was contained to that company. The county had a system in place that provided quick and efficient means of obtaining backup staff, even in these numbers, and that notified the county of an "unusual event" at this facility. And they acted.

As for the licensed employees, none of them notified the county of a problem with working conditions, just didn't show up for work. "But no matter how justified the reasoning may be, Kaiser said he is concerned that the employees’ actions “could rise to the level of abandonment.”

Sounds like it. The question would be what sanctions will be taken. Obviously, whatever "leadership" may have arisen among them, it was the wrong kind and they all failed their very serious responsibility.

[TNNurse]

3. My husband who was also an RN and I had a conversation about this.

Refusing to show up to work could result in a charge of abandonment and loss of license.

It also could be considered a suicide mission to be going to work in a place where there is imminent danger and you do not have the equipment necessary to protect yourself. These people did not sign up for combat. They did not volunteer to work in a war zone. They are also being asked to endanger their families and the larger community bu carrying infection out of the workplace.

No one signed up for this.

[elias7]

4. The facility has the duty to provide protective gear

If not able to wear PPE, it is like asking someone to walk through a minefield...