Filipino nurses in US join strike to protest lack of Ebola training

Nurses John Estenor and Lizelle Natividad chanting during the picket in front of the Providence Hospital. PHOTO BY JON MELEGRITO

WASHINGTON, DC– When 31-year-old Filipino nurse Lizelle Natividad heard about a Dallas nurse who was infected a month ago with the Ebola virus from a patient who came from Liberia, she was very concerned for the caregiver who took care of the patient.

“What if it happened here in DC,” she wonders. “Can we handle it?” The nation’s capital attracts thousands of tourists, diplomats and workers from West Africa, where more than 5,000 have already died from the Ebola virus.

The Dallas nurse, who received treatment at the National Institute of Health here, eventually recovered and declared free of the disease. The man she was treating died.

But Natividad was still worried. Washington, DC’s Providence Hospital, where she has worked as an RN in the Intermediate Cardiac Care unit for six years, has not provided the 400 nurses proper training on Ebola safety precautions and the use of personal protective equipment.

Compounding her concerns were the frantic calls from her family in Zamboanga City. “The Ebola scare was alarming,” she says. “As health workers who are willing to care for patients, whether it’s flu or Ebola, we are vulnerable.”

Walk-out

On November 12, more than a month after the Dallas nurse was infected, Natividad walked out of her job and joined 18,000 RNs and nurse practitioners across the country in a one-day strike to demand tougher Ebola safety precautions in the nation’s hospitals.

Wednesday’s protests also took place in Canada, Ireland, Spain and the Philippines. In the U.S., nurses in 15 states joined pickets, strikes and vigils.

The global protests coincided with Congress’ first day back in session after the 2014 midterm elections. Senate and House committees are expected to hold hearings on U.S. preparedness to cope with the spread of the Ebola disease.

Organized by National Nurses United (NNU), the largest U.S. organization of nurses, the strike was called when negotiations with management broke down.

“Hospital executives at the Providence Hospital refused to fairly address matters of health, safety and equity for patients and nurses,” said NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, at a press conference announcing the actions. “Our nurses are now being asked to put themselves in harm’s way unprotected and unguarded.”

For two hours, more than 200 nurses and their supporters rallied and picketed in front of the Hospital, chanting “Safe Staffing Now!” and “Fired Up, Can’t Take No More.”

Later in the afternoon, they joined hundreds more from area hospitals, where they staged a massive demonstration in front of the White House.

“NNU has repeatedly called on the President and Congress to mandate all hospitals to meet the highest standard of protection for health workers who might encounter an Ebola patient,” DeMoro said at the rally. “We know from years of experience that these hospitals will meet the cheapest standards, not the most effective precautions.”

Ebola survey

Bolstering the nurses’ demands is a new survey conducted by NNU, which shows that 85 percent of the 2,200 nurses who responded to the union’s questionnaire reported that their hospitals had not provided education on Ebola.

Another 76 percent said their institution had no policy for how to admit and handle patients potentially infected with the virus. More than a third claimed their hospitals didn’t have enough safety supplies.

“Not only am I not prepared for Ebola, we are severely understaffed,” says John Estenor, a Filipino RN from Iloilo City who joined Natividad and dozens of other Filipinos.

The 35-year-old operating room nurse at the Washington Hospital Center is outraged: “We are in the capital city of the greatest nation on earth, and we are not ready? We care for our patients, that’s why we are making our voices heard. They deserve the best quality care. But we must also be trained and equipped properly, like putting on and taking off the hazmat suits where some of the greatest risk of infection can occur.”

The Center employs close to 2,000 nurses, 300 of whom are Filipino and Filipino American.

Estenor, who comes from a family of health professionals, is grateful that he is part of a union, of which he is a member for the last 9 years.  “Kapit bisig tayo,” he says, affirming the value of linking arms in fighting for a cause.

“Without a sense of solidarity among the nurses, we can easily be subjected to unjust treatment by management. But the union gave them 10 days notice before the strike so they can postpone elective surgeries. I don’t feel like I’ve abandoned my patients at the OR,” Estenor adds.

Natividad says, “But we can do so much better if management takes us seriously, hires more nurses and respects our profession. I’m supposed to be taking care of only four patients during my shift, but there have been occasions when I get seven or eight.”

Stressful

Natividad works three 12-hour shifts a week, but she’s often called to work overtime, depriving her of much-needed days off to rest and relax. “It’s truly stressful,” she points. “I’m just glad we have a union looking out for our interests.”

Influenced by her older sister, aunts and cousins who are also nurses, Natividad chose the healing profession “because it gives me so much joy to see my patients smile. It’s gratifying to know that I’m part of their recovery. To see them discharged because they got better is an awesome experience.”

Filipino nurses are in high demand because of their skill, language proficiency, compassion and ability to cope with crisis situations. Not surprisingly, World Health Organization (WHO) officials have asked the Philippines to send health professionals to help control the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

“So many people around the world are being cared for by Filipino nurses,” says WHO Country Representative Dr. Julie Hall. “The kindness of Filipino nurses around the world is very well recognized.”

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