“Nursing is in your DNA. We’re called to serve,” said Lorie Brown, the president-elect of the nurse-attorney association. Brown, who works as a nurse-attorney at Brown Law Office in Indianapolis, couldn’t leave her law practice to go back to nursing. But she did devote time preparing a guide about self-care and mental health for nurses, covering such things as mindfulness, meditation and yoga. [Read Full Article]
Free video series offered to nurses fighting pandemic by San Diego nurse, veteran of AIDS crisis
In an article on CBS8.com, Lorie Brown put together the video series called “COVID-19 Video Survival Guide for Nurses and Healthcare Practitioners” to provide tips for nurses on the front line of the coronavirus fight. [Read Full Article]
Leading San Diego RN Creates Free Video Series for Frontline Nurses
“Lorie Brown put together the video series to provide tips for nurses on the front line of the coronavirus fight. It features 18 experts who provide advice such as keeping up immunity, getting better sleep, practicing mindfulness and understanding nurses’ rights.” [Read Full Article]
Nurses stuck on suspension longer than expected
“Lorie Brown is both a nurse and attorney. She’s fighting for nurses who are currently suspended or on probation to return and aid in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.” [Read Full Article]
Nursing And The Coronavirus
A nurse working at Kaiser in California took care of a patient who was positive for the coronavirus. She volunteered to care for this patient because she had training on the recommended protective gear. Her assumption was that should something happen to her, she would be cared for.
Unfortunately, after a few days passed, the nurse became ill. She put herself on a 14-day self-quarantine period. However, she could not get tested to confirm whether she had contracted the coronavirus. At that time, she was put on some type of list.
The United States has the lowest number of tests conducted for the coronavirus as compared to the rest of the world. It goes without saying that if we cannot get tested, how do we know who has it and then how can we limit the spread of the coronavirus?
Fortunately, this nurse had the support of her union, National Nurses United, which hosted a press conference on this matter at 11:00 A.M. PDT on March 12, 2020. You can listen to it here.
What concerns me about this situation is that this nurse took care of a patient with confirmed coronavirus and became ill. My issue with this nurse who became ill after she cared for the patient is that if it is not proven that she contracted the coronavirus during her treatment of the patient, her employer would have grounds to deny any workers compensation claim she might make.
It is very important that nurses who are exposed to the coronavirus get the proper documentation, so they not only get their time off but also for any medical care co-pays and any other sequelae.
I hope nothing like this happens to you, but it possibly could. Approximately 65 employees from the nursing home where many of the deaths from coronavirus are now ill but unable to get confirmatory testing. It’s scary that all these people are getting infected and I am hopeful they can contain the virus.
In the meantime, do whatever you can do to keep yourself healthy including taking vitamin C, exercising, drinking plenty of fluids, get adequate sleep and taking probiotics.
What has your facility done in light of the coronavirus outbreak? Have any specific precautions been put in place there to protect you?
Please share in the comments below.