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| One Hospital’s Last Resort to Protect Doctors: Yankee Rain Ponchos | One Hospital’s Last Resort to Protect Doctors: Yankee Rain Ponchos |
| (7 days later) | |
| When a doctor at one of New York City’s top hospitals arrived for work on Tuesday night, she found the following items in the bag of protective equipment that she received: a mask, an eye shield — and, in place of the usual medical gown, a plastic white-and-navy New York Yankees poncho, the kind available for purchase on rainy game days. | When a doctor at one of New York City’s top hospitals arrived for work on Tuesday night, she found the following items in the bag of protective equipment that she received: a mask, an eye shield — and, in place of the usual medical gown, a plastic white-and-navy New York Yankees poncho, the kind available for purchase on rainy game days. |
| Outraged, the doctor, an obstetrician-gynecologist resident at the hospital, part of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, took a picture of the poncho and posted it on Twitter. “I’m a physician at a hospital in NYC and THIS IS THE ‘PPE’ I WAS JUST HANDED for my shift,” she wrote, using the acronym for “personal protective equipment.” | Outraged, the doctor, an obstetrician-gynecologist resident at the hospital, part of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, took a picture of the poncho and posted it on Twitter. “I’m a physician at a hospital in NYC and THIS IS THE ‘PPE’ I WAS JUST HANDED for my shift,” she wrote, using the acronym for “personal protective equipment.” |
| The post was retweeted tens of thousands of times, emerging as a viral illustration of the equipment shortages that have plagued hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic. | The post was retweeted tens of thousands of times, emerging as a viral illustration of the equipment shortages that have plagued hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic. |
| From Seattle to Miami, but especially in New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the United States, workers have said they do not have enough gear to protect themselves from the virus as they treat patients. Doctors and nurses have had to reuse equipment or use trash bags and scarves for protection. | From Seattle to Miami, but especially in New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the United States, workers have said they do not have enough gear to protect themselves from the virus as they treat patients. Doctors and nurses have had to reuse equipment or use trash bags and scarves for protection. |
| In a statement, Montefiore Medical Center said the ponchos were not intended as protective gear but instead were a gift to weary staffers. | In a statement, Montefiore Medical Center said the ponchos were not intended as protective gear but instead were a gift to weary staffers. |
| “We received a very generous donation of 2,500 ponchos from our Bronx neighbors and friends The New York Yankees,” said the statement, issued on Wednesday evening. “We distributed them, first come first served, to the first 2,500 of our staff who walked in the door last night and this morning. This was a gift intended for their personal use.” | “We received a very generous donation of 2,500 ponchos from our Bronx neighbors and friends The New York Yankees,” said the statement, issued on Wednesday evening. “We distributed them, first come first served, to the first 2,500 of our staff who walked in the door last night and this morning. This was a gift intended for their personal use.” |
| The obstetrician-gynecologist resident who first tweeted about the ponchos under the Twitter handle @racheljulie declined to comment, saying Montefiore had not authorized her to speak to the media. | The obstetrician-gynecologist resident who first tweeted about the ponchos under the Twitter handle @racheljulie declined to comment, saying Montefiore had not authorized her to speak to the media. |
| The Yankees also declined to comment. But a team executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said someone at the hospital contacted the team recently, asking specifically for ponchos. The club donated thousands, the executive said. | The Yankees also declined to comment. But a team executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said someone at the hospital contacted the team recently, asking specifically for ponchos. The club donated thousands, the executive said. |
| And four other hospital employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they had received bags containing ponchos and were told to use the items in the bags as protective equipment. All said they refused to wear the ponchos and instead reused old gowns or dipped into the hospital’s dwindling emergency supplies. | And four other hospital employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they had received bags containing ponchos and were told to use the items in the bags as protective equipment. All said they refused to wear the ponchos and instead reused old gowns or dipped into the hospital’s dwindling emergency supplies. |
| “If it was a gift, it was a terrible gift,” one added. | “If it was a gift, it was a terrible gift,” one added. |
| The episode has inflamed a major health system that has been besieged by the coronavirus. As of Thursday, more than 375 Montefiore employees, out of a total work force of about 17,000, had tested positive for the virus, according to an internal email obtained by The New York Times. | The episode has inflamed a major health system that has been besieged by the coronavirus. As of Thursday, more than 375 Montefiore employees, out of a total work force of about 17,000, had tested positive for the virus, according to an internal email obtained by The New York Times. |
| A respected neurosurgeon at the hospital died of complications related to the virus this week. | A respected neurosurgeon at the hospital died of complications related to the virus this week. |
| The Bronx has been among the hardest-hit parts of New York City, with more than 8,600 cases — 584 cases for every 100,000 residents, a higher rate than any borough other than Queens, according to city data. The Bronx had the highest percentage of cases resulting in hospitalizations. | The Bronx has been among the hardest-hit parts of New York City, with more than 8,600 cases — 584 cases for every 100,000 residents, a higher rate than any borough other than Queens, according to city data. The Bronx had the highest percentage of cases resulting in hospitalizations. |
| Overall, New York had more than 45,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,374 deaths as of Wednesday night, making it by far the most affected city in the United States. | Overall, New York had more than 45,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,374 deaths as of Wednesday night, making it by far the most affected city in the United States. |
| At Montefiore, a network of 11 hospitals and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, many employees have been complaining about shortages in protective equipment for weeks. | At Montefiore, a network of 11 hospitals and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, many employees have been complaining about shortages in protective equipment for weeks. |
| Early in the pandemic, tensions over protective equipment came to a head when a fistfight broke out among workers and visitors at one of the Montefiore hospitals over access to masks, several Montefiore staffers said. After that incident, administrators locked up masks and other gear across the system and began rationing them. | Early in the pandemic, tensions over protective equipment came to a head when a fistfight broke out among workers and visitors at one of the Montefiore hospitals over access to masks, several Montefiore staffers said. After that incident, administrators locked up masks and other gear across the system and began rationing them. |
| At first, Montefiore barred workers from using full protective gear except around patients who had tested positive for the virus or had a pending test, according to the staffers. Later, it said workers should wear heavy-duty N95 masks only when performing major procedures. | At first, Montefiore barred workers from using full protective gear except around patients who had tested positive for the virus or had a pending test, according to the staffers. Later, it said workers should wear heavy-duty N95 masks only when performing major procedures. |
| Updated August 12, 2020 | |
| On March 25, the system started ordering doctors and nurses to wear the same N95 masks for up to three days at a time, according to an email obtained by The Times. That plan called for masks to be distributed on Mondays and Thursdays and reused in between. | On March 25, the system started ordering doctors and nurses to wear the same N95 masks for up to three days at a time, according to an email obtained by The Times. That plan called for masks to be distributed on Mondays and Thursdays and reused in between. |
| Then this week came the new distribution process, the paper bags and the ponchos. | Then this week came the new distribution process, the paper bags and the ponchos. |
| On Tuesday and Wednesday, all employees entering the Montefiore main campus in the Bronx had to submit to a temperature check when they entered the front door and then were given the bag of protective equipment. | On Tuesday and Wednesday, all employees entering the Montefiore main campus in the Bronx had to submit to a temperature check when they entered the front door and then were given the bag of protective equipment. |
| An online editorial in the Journal of American Medicine last month listed rain ponchos and “bedbug sheet material” as potential replacements for gowns in a crisis. But some experts have said ponchos would be a poor substitute, in part because they are thinner and flimsier than conventional protective gowns. | An online editorial in the Journal of American Medicine last month listed rain ponchos and “bedbug sheet material” as potential replacements for gowns in a crisis. But some experts have said ponchos would be a poor substitute, in part because they are thinner and flimsier than conventional protective gowns. |
| In interviews, Montefiore employees noted that the Yankees ponchos do not even cover the arms and have no openings in the back to allow for removal without contamination. | In interviews, Montefiore employees noted that the Yankees ponchos do not even cover the arms and have no openings in the back to allow for removal without contamination. |
| Several employees said they do not think their bosses are taking their concerns seriously. | Several employees said they do not think their bosses are taking their concerns seriously. |
| “Every day when I go to work, I feel like a sheep going to slaughter. My colleagues and I are writing our last will and testament. I’m 28 years old,” said Laura Ucik, a third-year Montefiore resident, at a news conference with the New York State Nurses Association on Thursday. | “Every day when I go to work, I feel like a sheep going to slaughter. My colleagues and I are writing our last will and testament. I’m 28 years old,” said Laura Ucik, a third-year Montefiore resident, at a news conference with the New York State Nurses Association on Thursday. |
| “We fear that we may not survive this pandemic,” she said. | “We fear that we may not survive this pandemic,” she said. |
| On Wednesday, the chief of neurology at Montefiore’s medical schools sent an email to staff seeking to assuage concerns about the ponchos. | On Wednesday, the chief of neurology at Montefiore’s medical schools sent an email to staff seeking to assuage concerns about the ponchos. |
| “The hospital initiated the new PPE distribution today. As you enter the hospital, you are given a full set of PPE. We have confirmed that this occurred at all sites today,” she wrote. | “The hospital initiated the new PPE distribution today. As you enter the hospital, you are given a full set of PPE. We have confirmed that this occurred at all sites today,” she wrote. |
| Then she added: “(For Mets fans who received Yankee rain ponchos, we feel you).” | Then she added: “(For Mets fans who received Yankee rain ponchos, we feel you).” |