New York Nurses Union File Lawsuit Against State Health Department Over PPE Failures
The New York State Health Department (DOH) and two hospitals are being named in a lawsuit filed by the state’s biggest nurses union over PPE failures amid the coronavirus crisis.
As of Monday (Apr 20), the lawsuits accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration and Montefiore Medical Center and Westchester Medical Center of failing to provide adequate personal protective equipment (ie: masks, gloves, gowns) for its nurses of all levels.
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The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) stated, “By compromising the health and safety of the nurses, the DOH and the two hospitals jeopardize patients, their families and the communities in which they live.” They add, “All three suits expose, among other failures: not providing impermeable gowns and other PPE to cover RNs bodies; not properly training RNs redeployed from hospital units; inadequate provision of safe working conditions for high-risk employees, including pregnant RNs. Overall, the nurses have not received appropriate masks and carry out assignments in unsafe working conditions.”
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