The Seattle area had the country's first big coronavirus outbreak. It mostly gotten has things under control since then — but not at Western State Hospital, where there are 22 cases among psychiatric staff and patients. (KUOW)
As a psychiatric social worker at Washington’s Western State Hospital, Maria Claudio’s job is to care for some of the most complex mental health patients in the state.
Last Tuesday, DSHS changed its policy. In a memo to staff, the agency said masks from home would be allowed to “reduce risk” and “reduce concerns.” The new policy also applies to staff at Eastern State Hospital and at the state’s Residential Habilitation Centers for the developmentally disabled.“Please be advised that if you choose to wear your own face mask, you will be doing so at your own risk,” wrote Sean Murphy, the assistant secretary for behavioral health at DSHS.
“We don’t have enough supplies to issue masks out to all of our staff and maintain that issuance level for a long period of time, so part of this is a conservation effort,” Murphy said. An SEIU 1199 spokesperson said some of the union’s demands have already been met, but others have not, including a request for paid administrative leave, in lieu of sick leave, for workers who contract COVID-19. The union has also asked that all patients at the hospital be tested for the virus.
For example, on March 29, the hospital created a separate ward for patients who test positive for COVID-19 -- something the unions had requested. In addition to the challenge of keeping COVID-19 from spreading, WSH is dealing with an ongoing staffing shortage that has been exacerbated by the public health crisis.
Murphy said the hospital has now ordered a different kind of thermometer, but because they’re in short supply delivery isn’t imminent. In the meantime, WSH has stopped taking the temperatures of staff. Instead, workers arriving for their shift now sign an attestation that says they don’t have COVID-19 symptoms.
“We do not have the luxury of time to pretend it’s going to be okay at WSH when it clearly is not,” the email said.
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