After a deadly COVID outbreak, Maryland County will take steps to protect health care workers

The Maryland Department of Health is taking new steps to protect workers after six months. COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when it first appears The outbreak killed a veteran employee who was denied permission to work from home twice.

Shanti Mack, 44, died in May. More than 20 colleagues have also caught the coronavirus, and some are suffering from permanent problems.

Now, after a July KHN and Associated Press article spurred the investigation, Prince George’s County officials added an appeal process to their telecommuting policy and hired a consultant to “operation and management needs for improvement.” It states that it has identified. Department.Union officials, counties Personal protective equipment, Masks and gloves, etc. have become available in the last few months, with more emphasis on social distance.

“We’ve reached somewhere,” said Ronda Wallace, leader of the regional branch of the US State, County, and City Employees’ Federation. “But we aren’t there yet.”

In an email to KHN, Health Department spokesman George Lettis said authorities could not publish the county’s findings due to staff and medical information.However, a letter from county officials to Wallace shares the main conclusions of the investigation: what the health sector tried to obtain. PPE in early March Through the newsletter, we advised employees on social distance and proper hygiene.

“We must not overlook that this was a rapidly evolving situation,” said a letter from Dr. George Askew, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Welfare and Education. “At this unprecedented time, best efforts were made to keep community and health department employees safe and informed.” This letter does not acknowledge the county’s revocation.

Some employees claimed that the investigation did not delve into the circumstances surrounding Mack’s death, and said the county should publicly acknowledge its role in what happened. At a press conference in July, county official Angela Alsobrooks said Mack’s death was “worthy of an investigation,” and the county was “sparing time and money.”

Mack, who worked for the agency’s sexually transmitted disease program, was denied permission to work from home in March, despite having health problems at high risk of COVID-19 complications.

At that time, at least three other employees who were denied work from home also became ill. Revonda Watts, a nurse and program manager, said she was allowed to work at home for a day before being recalled to the office. Some of these employees worked face-to-face with the general public, at least for some time.

The union document obtained by KHN provided details of the conference call by the department manager, and Deputy Director Diane Young set out the criteria for working from home, such as being 65 years of age or older or having small children. She said the decision would be made on a case-by-case basis.

In the meantime, protective masks, gowns and other safety devices Nationwide supply shortage And in the health sector, which distributed them only to specific workers. When Young asked Watts about the need for PPE in early April, Watts wrote in an email received by KHN: I have a gown. “

Even if goggles were available, Young replied, “Face shields and gowns are in limited supply and will be used by people examining patients with COVID-19.”

Some employees described the March and April office meetings and “morning gatherings” that took place without social distance, during which participants wore masks.

Employees got sick one after another.

Watts, who suffered from asthma at the age of 58, developed bronchitis in addition to COVID-19, and subsequently developed chest pain due to vascular spasm. She spread the virus to her adult daughter.

Administrative aide Natania Bowen also spread the virus to her family, including her husband and her seven-year-old daughter. Bowen, 47, with asthma, experienced a bacterial pulmonary infection with COVID-19.

Receptionist Yolanda Potter, 53, had a severe headache for a month after being infected with the coronavirus. She developed a blood clot in her right leg and had to inject an anticoagulant into her stomach for 45 days to prevent it from breaking and moving to the lungs and brain. She and her current desk x-ray technician, Carolyn Ferguson, suffer from ongoing memory problems, but Bowen continues to have lung problems.

Bowen is currently working from home, but Watt, Potter and Ferguson are back in the office. As of mid-November, 141 health employees were fully on-site, 68 were partially on-site and 196 were at home, according to Lettis.

Employees said they were pleased that social distance is now the norm in the health sector, that there are more places to disinfect hands, and that PPE is readily available. They are also looking forward to new policies regarding remote work.

The county-wide rules include two levels of reviews for telecommuting requirements. One is by the boss and the other is by the boss who has to give a reason if the worker’s request is denied. The employee can then ask the Human Resources Department to confirm the refusal.

Despite such measures, some employees are still worried about getting COVID-19 at work, especially as the state’s COVID dashboard exceeds the county’s cumulative number of cases of over 42,000. ..

Some employees are seeking long-term disability leave or are discussing with their attorneys about getting workers’ accident compensation. Watts said he was waiting for a workers’ accident compensation hearing and asked for permission to work from home again as he was dealing with the overwhelming fatigue and numbness of his feet and hands. After returning to the office, she said she had to bring her own mask from home.

“I’m just dissatisfied with not being able to bounce,” she said. “We really disappointed us and didn’t do due diligence to make sure our staff were protected,” a health official said.

This story Associated Press And KHN..