O.C. respiratory therapists at epicenter of COVID-19 battle say they are burning out

In this Dec. 17, 2020, file photo, medical tents are set up outside the emergency room at UCI Medical Center in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Dec 25, 2020 / 06:32 PM PST

Updated: Dec 25, 2020 / 06:32 PM PST

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center respiratory therapists — whose skills and training place them squarely in the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic — are describing increasingly untenable work conditions as the facility struggles against its capacity to admit and treat COVID-19 patients.

Concerned about urgent safety issues that have so far gone unaddressed as the patient count continues to rise, employees reached out to representatives from the National Union of Healthcare Workers to intervene on their behalf.

“We had a call with therapists over the weekend, who said we need to sound the alarm,” said Barbara Lewis, NUHW’s Southern California hospital division director. “Our members see how bad it is right now. There needs to be a breakthrough because this is not sustainable.”

In a Dec. 20 email to Chief Executive Kenneth McFarland and other hospital officials, Lewis asked for a meeting to discuss “a very bad situation regarding patient safety.” When they got no response, they sent a follow-up message and got an immediate reply from Human Resources Officer Mark Fisher.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.