NJ Nurses Fear 'Speeding Train' Of Coronavirus Cases, Union Says

NEWARK, NJ — What does it feel like to be a hospital worker in New Jersey right now? It’s like standing on a railroad track and watching a speeding train hurtle in your direction, according to the president of the largest nurses’ union in the state.

Earlier this week, the Health Professionals & Allied Employees (HPAE) union issued a dire warning in the name of its members, as coronavirus cases surge in hospitals across the Garden State. READ MORE: Gov. Murphy: Coronavirus Cases Could Double To 10K A Day In NJ

According to the HPAE, which represents 14,000 nurses, technicians and other hospital employees, a second wave of COVID-19 is hitting New Jersey and it’s “terrifying.”

“What is quickly becoming clear to us is that this surge will be much worse because we have a finite number of available staff and the rest of the country is surging at the same time,” HPAE President Debbie White said.

“Across New Jersey and across the country, we haven’t developed a standard pandemic plan,” White continued. “It’s been largely up to each employer to handle the crisis in whatever way they see fit. In the last surge we saw many employers fail to protect our healthcare workers.”

“The sad truth is that we are hearing early reports that our nurses and other healthcare workers are testing positive for COVID-19 in the workplace,” White said.

White said the HPAE has filed multiple complaints with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on behalf of health care workers amid the pandemic, several of which have resulted in citations.

“One of the more alarming things we are hearing about is some hospitals are sending workers notifications that healthcare workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients – but are asymptomatic – must come to work,” White said.

“How safe is this for patients and workers?” White questioned. “How safe is this for a work environment?”

According to White, state officials and hospitals need to immediately develop contingency plans, such as:

• Stopping visitation
• Stopping elective surgeries
• Developing alternate staffing plans
• Offering bonuses to workers to work extra and overtime shifts

There have been some legislative efforts to give nurses and health care workers the help they need in a desperate time, White said, such as A-4129, a bill that would force employers to keep track of exposure and illness among healthcare workers and report them to the state Department of Health.

But much more needs to be done, White said – and there’s no time to lose.

“Clearly healthcare workers are a population at risk,” White charged. “We need to protect them. We need to know the numbers of exposed and sick workers and we need to develop a statewide, comprehensive plan holding all health care employers accountable.”

The HPAE represents workers with Rutgers University, University Hospital, Cornerstone Behavioral Health Hospital, Christ Hospital, Cooper University Health Care, Palisades Medical Center, Virtua Health Alliance, Bayonne Medical Center, Harborage, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, VNA Health Group of New Jersey, Visiting Nurses Association of Englewood, Jersey Shore Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center, Wanaque Subacute Care Center, New Bridge Medical Center, Llanfair House, Hudson Regional Hospital, Inspira Health - Vineland, Elmer, and Bridgeton, Temple Episcopal Hospital, American Red Cross, Inspira Health – Woodbury, Memorial Hospital of Salem County, Rowan University and AAC/Sunrise House.

• See related article: 'Terrified' Hillsborough Nurse Pleads For Caution As COVID Spikes
• See related article: At Least 6 NJ Hospitals On 'Divert' Status As COVID-19 Cases Rise
• See related article: Hospitals In Essex County, Newark, See Patient Surge

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