Coronavirus Takes Life Of Hospital Worker Where Nurses Wear Trash Bags As PPE

Among the photos trending on social media today amid the coronavirus outbreak, there is one that shows Mount Sinai West nurses wearing black plastic trash bags as their protective wear. The caption on the photo tells the story. It said that the hospital has no more gowns, and there are no more masks left. Many of them are reusing disposable ones, while other nurses are putting on some makeshift protective wear during this COVID-19 crisis.

One of the nurses is holding an open box of 20 Hefty Stronge 33-gallon garbage bags, which they used as a makeshift protective gear. The caption also included hashtags like #pleasedonateppe, #heftytotherescue, and #riskingourlivestosaveyours.

Who's To Blame?

On Wednesday, hospital staffers near the Columbus Circle blamed the lack of basic supplies for the death of their colleague, assistant nursing manager Kious Kelly. The 48-year-old assistant nursing manager tested positive for COVID-19 around two weeks ago.

He was admitted on March 17 to the flagship hospital of Mount Sinai, located on the Upper East Side and died Tuesday night. According to one nurse, Kious did not deserve to die and that the hospital should be held responsible for his death.

An Old Issue

Another nurse revealed that the hospital’s issue with supplies is already one year old, which implies the problem is already present way before the coronavirus outbreak started. She also said that they sometimes had to hide their own supplies and look for stuff in other units since they could not get anything from the supply room.

She said it was all fine until the hospital started admitting COVID-19 patients. At that point, their supply need became critical.

Sources from within the hospital said they have been using the same PPE when tending to both infected and non-infected patients. Since the hospital does not have any more spare gowns, they decided to use trash bags as a substitute to prevent the spread of infection.

Disappearing Items

Another nurse said they had to reuse disposable masks, gowns, and face shield. According to the nurse, they were told that they could only use one of each for the duration of their shift until the crisis is over. She also said that certain items like wipes, hand sanitizers, and masks started to disappear through the night. A hospital spokesman strongly disagreed with the statements of the nurses about the lack of equipment and that they are not providing protection to their staff.