Attending Physician, WA: "I was in the middle of doing an exam on a patient when an administrator from my hospital interrupted the visit to speak to me. He asked if the patient was at high risk for COVID infection. When I explained that he was not, he told me to immediately take off my mask. When I refused, he ripped it off my face, stating: 'You are giving patients the impression that COVID is far worse than it is.'"
Physician Assistant, VT: “I work in a community hospital. I was wearing an N-95 mask I brought from home since our hospital was out of stock. A hospital administrator told me I could not wear one because unless I had enough with me to give to everyone, no one could wear them. He put a written complaint in my file when my response was, ‘I have heard of share-day in preschool— but must have missed the It's share-day in the ER memo.'"
Attending Physician, NY: “I was just placed on administrative leave indefinitely because I sent an email to the entire administrative team of the health system where I work, questioning (firmly) why they had yet to create an operationalized system that hospital staff and physicians could follow so positive COVID patients in our hospital could be separated from those who did not have it."
Medical Assistant, CA: “After a Zoom meeting where we were told we no longer needed to wear PPE if we were not within two feet of an ill patient, I asked the director of health services in our healthcare system running the meeting if exceptions could be made for those individuals who were immune-compromised like myself, since I had just returned to work after a short leave due to treatment for breast cancer. His response: 'Do you think having cancer makes you special? If you don’t agree with these recommendations then you can self-elect to use PTO and stay at home.'”
Critical Care Physician, AZ: "As a critical care physician, I asked our hospital administration what they expected me and my colleagues to do if we were faced with a situation where our need for ventilators exceeded what we had available. His response: 'Do the best you can.' I questioned this by requesting something more procedural and in writing that physicians could follow but was told, 'We don’t have time to put together a protocol for a situation that will likely never happen. However, if this time comes, we can discuss it then.' Apparently being proactive is outside the scope of healthcare administrators capabilities.”
Registered Nurse, CA: “Our administrators said they would be working from home and would not be coming into the hospital. I inquired as to why. They told us that their contributions to the work flows at this time were not as important as ours as healthcare employees, and they didn’t want to risk increasing the numbers of those infected. Another nurse sitting next to me in the same on-line meeting asked, ‘If you aren’t as important as those of us coming in to work every day amidst this COVID crisis then why do you get paid four times more than what physicians do?’ The administrator ended the meeting without responding.”
Attending Physician, WA: “The administrators called an emergency meeting to discuss PPE. As an Infectious Disease specialist, I requested to be in attendance. I was told this would not be necessary, however, I was assured that no formal decisions as they pertained to PPE would be made without administration first gathering my input. Not more than an hour after the meeting was due to start, a mass email was sent to the entire hospital system workforce of nearly 10,000 people stating that masks would be given out on a case-by-case basis determined only by those on the administrative team. In other words, it wouldn’t be those with a medical or nursing degree determining who needed a mask and who did not, but instead those with a business one. Smart.”
Central Supply Director, KY: “There are approximately 20,000 masks sitting in our central supply storage with an expiration date of January 2020. Despite this, I made a recommendation that we redistribute them to other hospitals in our system who needed them. The next day at work, all the masks were off the inventory list and I was later told by my boss that I should not ask questions about system recommendations that are outside of my pay grade.”
Medical Clinic Manager, CA: “In the healthcare system I belong to, we currently have two CEO’s each making nearly $10 million dollars a year. They run the largest healthcare corporation in the nation, yet when I asked in January if we could be proactive about COVID, I was told by hospital administration that funds were tight and we wouldn’t be able to order excess PPE in preparation. As I was walking away from the administrator he said, ‘Take my advice, if you have stocks, start selling them.’ I didn’t understand what he meant by this until now. They knew this was coming yet did nothing to prepare.”
Attending Physician, PA: “I and my other surgeon colleagues each received a phone call from our hospital CEO that despite recommendations from the Surgeon General, under no circumstances were we to take it upon ourselves to reschedule elective surgeries. If we did, we would risk losing our jobs.”
Attending Physician, TX: “I overheard the CFO from our hospital system tell our hospital president that they were allocating insurance reimbursement money as a potential bonus opportunity to hospital administrators who were able to stay on budget without costing them more amid this COVID (and I quote) 'shit-show.'”
Attending Physician, SC: “I recently came down with a low-grade fever and chills. I emailed my clinic manager suggesting I be tested for COVID. I was told not to test due to the need for me in the clinic and to wait until I was showing signs of shortness of breath. I didn’t realize that the administrators running the show had in their spare time, obtained a degree to practice medicine.”
Originally Posted by scjbash
. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
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