Prison Nurse: Not Enough PPE For Treating Dozens Of Inmates With Coronavirus
FRAMINGHAM (CBS) - Inside the walls of Massachusetts' women's prison in Framingham, one nurse tells WBZ, she doesn't feel safe in this coronavirus hot spot. "The whole idea of this is to slow the spread, and I think we're just not doing that," she said.
She wants to remain anonymous, but explained she got one KN95 mask to use every day, and one plastic gown, with a video telling staff to discard it after one use, which isn't happening. "We've been told to write our names on our gowns that we have and reuse them," she said.
Wellpath, the company that provides prison medical staff, sent a statement. "Our clinical personnel have ongoing access to masks, gowns, and other PPE…Our national Wellpath procurement team is working around the clock to secure adequate PPE…"
The nurse said it's not enough for treating COVID-19 positive patients. "You're going into a cell, a very small space, and you're doing your, your nursing, your vital signs, your assessment in a very small space," she said.
At MCI Framingham, 68 inmates and six staff members have tested positive. Statewide, 225 inmates have been infected. "We've been moving our patients around quite frequently, which is probably not a good idea," said the nurse.
"We have to start with making sure guards are wearing their masks, whether they're in their unit or not," said Darell Jones, a prisoner advocate who talks with prisoners daily. He was released last year when his conviction was overturned. "They have to create a particular unit or facility to bring those people that are sick, so they're separated," Jones said.
The Department of Corrections had no response.