Labor unions have called for the agency to issue an emergency standard that would define what steps employers must take to protect their workers from the coronavirus. It has not done that, although it offered guidance that it said does not create a “new legal obligation” for employers.
Former officials from the federal agency criticize OSHA for a slow and timid response to a “worker safety crisis of monstrous proportions” unfolding in hospitals, nursing homes.
Francisco Díaz ordinarily works educating seniors about their diabetes, but he has moved to the emergency room, on the front line in the battle against coronavirus. He said his Latino background helps him communicate with the many Spanish-speaking patients and understand their culture.
Many states are dramatically loosening regulations on nurse practitioners as the coronavirus pandemic increases demand for health care workers. But not California.
Martha Phillips traveled to Sierra Leone during the Ebola epidemic in 2014 to serve as a nurse. Now, she’s working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, advising her colleagues on how to stay safe.
The military is called to action to battle the pandemic, even as the numbers of people infected among its ranks and veterans climb amid a shortage of doctors and nurses.
Lack of protective gear and fears about all the unknown aspects of COVID-19 are parts of the mosaic of stress facing doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.
Revenue is way down for primary care, specialty physicians and some hospitals as patients avoid non-urgent visits. Practices small and large are doling out layoffs and furloughs to staff.
As they prepare for an onslaught of coronavirus patients, health officials in New York and other states urge retired medical professionals to rejoin the ranks.
As illness from the new coronavirus stresses the health care system, nurses said they are being forced to make do with less and learning to be good stewards of available equipment and protective gear.
