TopFeatured.com

Three dozen nurses, respiratory therapists and other employees picketed outside Kindred Hospital Westminster on Wednesday, July 22, demanding increased COVID-19 protections.

Dressed in red T-shirts advertising National Union of Healthcare Workers, the protesters carried signs summing up their cause: “Patients before profits,” read one poster. “Frontline workers deserve fair hazard pay,” said another. And: “If we get sick, you get sick. PPE now.”

The 109-bed facility serves as a transitional stop for patients released from traditional hospitals, but who still need intensive care.

Seven of Kindred Hospital Westminster’s nearly 80 patients have tested positive for COVID-19, said union spokesman Matthew Artz. Sixteen workers have tested positive, he said.

The hospital admits both COVID-positive patients and non-COVID patients, “freeing up critically needed beds in our local ICUs,” Julie Meyers, assistant administrator for the Orange County facilities, said in an email.

While camaraderie among the workers outside was palpable Wednesday, the pandemic has strained relationships inside. “It definitely causes tension between management and staff,” said ventilator therapist Joshua Fernandez.

Meyers said the company has “retained an abundant supply of personal protective equipment for all of our employees.” But some workers say otherwise.

Although he is still recovering from coronavirus after two weeks in the hospital, nurse Cesar Robles, 67, appeared at the protest as a show of support, he said.

Prior to becoming sick in mid-June, Robles said he mostly wore “a simple paper mask.” Hospital-grade PPE had become harder to secure rather than easier, he said.

“Before, there were N95 masks hanging from hooks for us to use,” Robles said. “Starting in March, the policy changed. When we arrived at work, we had to go through a supervisor to get a mask.”

Fernandez said N95s have been more available in recent weeks, but employees who don’t work directly with patients, such as secretaries, still are not provided them, he said.

Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare has facilities nationwide, including four Orange County sites.

Brenda Alexander, a respiratory therapist at the Brea location where there was an outbreak three months ago, said caregivers are expected to wear the same N95 mask all week and the same gown all day.

“That was not an acceptable practice before coronavirus,” said Alexander, who joined the Westminster protest. “We used to have plenty of gowns. We changed gowns between every patient, and we changed masks at least daily.”

Fernandez said that staffing at the Westminster location is down. “People have quit, saying, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore,’” he said. “The staff-to-patient ratio is so tight that if you lose just one employee, everyone feels it.”

Among other safety protocols, Kindred spokeswoman Meyers said employees have been offered the option of testing.

However, the company will foot the bill for only one test, Fernandez said: “I’m saving mine for if I ever get symptoms.”

In response to employees’ salary complaints, Meyers said Kindred has attempted to negotiate extra “hero pay,” adding, “to date, the union has rejected our offer.”

“We remain committed,” Meyers said, “to protecting and supporting our selfless and dedicated teams on the frontlines of this health crisis.”