Union demands protections after staff, patients fall ill with COVID-19 at Western State Hospital
After news that five employees and two patients have tested positive for the coronavirus at Western State Hospital, the union representing behavioral health care workers there has condemned officials for not doing enough to protect workers.
“When you dig deep, some of the things are not as effective as they could be,” said Jane Hopkins, executive vice president of the SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, which represents 1,000 employees across Washington including 400 at Western State.
State officials said the behavioral health hospital is following state guidelines to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Western State has held several training sessions on infectious disease, is screening all visitors and new patients and is providing protective gear for those in contact with patients who have contracted the virus.
Hopkins said while the state is trying, things are falling through the cracks.
“It’s a psych hospital, and they are great at treating patients, but when it comes down to it, it is not a medical hospital,” she said. “They really need someone who does this on a regular basis.”
The hospital employs 2,700 staff members and holds 857 beds.
Sean Murphy, assistant secretary for the Behavioral Health Administration, told The News Tribune the training, instruction and personal protection provided to staff follows the Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines.
There are signs posted around the Lakewood hospital and video on loop in staff rooms, directing staff to wash hands, watch for coughs and to practice social distancing.
Hopkins said before this week, all training on protective gear had been virtual. That’s a big risk, she said.
“There is a particular way you put on equipment, and there is a way to put it on and a way to take it off,” she said. “It’s important to follow this. If you don’t, you will be contaminated.”
Now, there are nurses coaching proper protocols for infectious diseases on the floor, and four infection-control personnel helping with training, Murphy said.
The two patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been isolated in their rooms and given masks, he said.
When staff enter those rooms, they wear gloves, gowns, masks and a face shield. If staff are in other wards, they do not wear the medical gear.
The hospital has stopped all visits, apart from legal representatives, patient advocates and allied health care providers. “High touch” areas like door handles and rails are cleaned regularly.
All new patients are screened as are the law enforcement who bring them in.
“We know who is coming in, and the condition they come in at,” Murphy said.
Hopkins said that staff screening visitors and taking temperatures do not have protective gear.
“It’s concerning for me,” she said.
The union wants a hospital ward for COVID-19 patients only, a voluntary COVID-19 team solely for the ward and immediate testing for symptomatic employees.
Murphy said there are not enough test kits available for all staff and patients to be preemptively tested.
The union also is asking for COVID-19 leave for staff who are sick with the virus, rather than relying on personal sick leave.
“This is a crisis, and they need to treat it as such,” Hopkins said.
Those who have visited Western State Hospital in the past two weeks are asked to monitor and contact health care providers if they become symptomatic.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:51 PM.
