New York City’s Call-To-Arms For Health Workers Doesn’t Come With Guarantee Their Medical Bills Will Be Covered

ProPublica: New York Wants Health Workers To Join The Fight Against COVID-19. Will It Pick Up Their Medical Bills If They Get Sick?
As patients infected with the novel coronavirus begin to overwhelm hospitals in parts of the country, and more medical staff become ill, states are asking retirees, recent medical school graduates and other health professionals to step into the breach. New York City, the current epicenter of the pandemic with more than 44,915 cases, is recruiting medical volunteers with exhortations that recall World War I and World War II-era posters, “We want you for medical work now.” (Campbell and Buford, 4/1)

The Associated Press: Call For Virus Volunteers Yields Army Of Health Care Workers
The work is exhausting and dangerous, the situation bleak. But an army of health care workers heeded New York’s call for help reinforcing hospitals overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. So far, at least 82,000 people have volunteered for the state’s reserve force of medical workers — a group that includes recent retirees returning to work, health care professionals who can take a break from their regular jobs and people between gigs, according to health officials. (Neumeister and Villeneuve, 4/2)

NBC News: NYC Medical Workers Treating Coronavirus Describe Fear, Confusion With Protective Equipment Rationed
Medical workers at New York City hospitals describe fear, desperation and confusion as the coronavirus creates chaos in the health care system, with facilities rationing protective equipment and changing the playbook in unprecedented ways. “You have all these things that keep changing every single day,” said a medical resident who works at multiple public hospitals in Brooklyn. “It’s very terrifying to be flying the plane at the same time you’re building it.” (Silva, 4/1)

ProPublica: ‘I’m Terrified’: Pregnant Health Care Workers At Risk For Coronavirus Are Being Forced To Keep Working
Pregnant nurses and doctors say they are being forced to go to work with no formal accommodations or extra protections to keep them safe from the coronavirus, even though they are immunocompromised and data is still emerging about the risks of fetal transmission. Dozens of pregnant medical workers reached out to ProPublica, saying they were weighing whether to stay in jobs they view as dangerous or quit, which could add to the burdens of their beleaguered colleagues. (Martin and Yeung, 4/1)

WBUR: Doctors Say Hospitals Are Stopping Them From Wearing Masks 
Buckalew’s account lays bare tensions between some hospital systems and health care workers on the front lines of this disease. Many doctors, nurses and other hospital workers say they don’t feel protected and are afraid in the midst of a shortage of masks and other protective gear. Some are bringing their own supplies donated by friends and family or purchased at hardware stores. (Fadel, 4/2)

The Hill: Esper: Military Personnel Could Help Treat Coronavirus Patients ‘If Push Comes To Shove’ 
Military personnel deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are not planning to assist with treatment of coronavirus patients barring a change in circumstances, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday. Thousands of members of the armed forces, including the National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, have scattered across the country to provide assistance in the country’s response to the virus. But Esper said the military will not be treating coronavirus patients unless “push comes to shove,” asserting the Pentagon’s resources are better used building hospitals and treating trauma patients to lighten the load on hospitals. (Samuels, 4/1)

WBUR: Schumer Calls For Hazard Pay For Frontline Workers In Coronavirus Fight 
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he told President Trump on Wednesday that the United States should grant hazard pay — additional pay for hazardous duty — to frontline federal employees responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly, the New York Democrat also said there will be another coronavirus relief package, and that legislation should require hazard pay for all frontline workers like nurses, doctors and first responders. (Gringlas, 4/1)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Here Are The Items Hospitals Need Most Right Now, And How You Can Donate
With medical workers facing a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), some health organizations are accepting donations of the materials they need to keep staff safe and treat patients during the coronavirus pandemic. That list of equipment includes items like eye protection, gowns, and face masks and N95 respirators, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vadala, 4/1)

Fox News: New England Patriots Send Plane To China, Get 1.2 Million N95 Masks For Massachusetts
The New England Patriots appeared to answer the calls for help as Massachusetts became the latest state to struggle with supply shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic. Patriots team owner Robert Kraft sent the organization’s private plane to China to pick up much-needed protective equipment for medical workers in the state, according to multiple reports. The plane is set to land at Logan Airport on Thursday and will be greeted by Gov. Charlie Baker, Politico reported. (4/2)

Houston Chronicle: Houston ER Nurse Lacking Proper Protection Is Now Fighting For His Life
Hospital administrations have previously said they were merely following CDC guidelines that allowed restricted use of personal protective equipment to better conserve supplies against the gathering storm. In recent days, though, hospital systems across Houston began revising policies so in most cases anyone involved in patient care or who works in patient areas now are to wear masks. Some institutions, though, continue to restrict the use of certain protective gear. (Deam, 4/1)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Nurse Who Died From Coronavirus Was The ‘Backbone’ For Nurses, Friends Say 
A New Orleans-area nurse on the front lines of treating patients with coronavirus — and who contracted the virus herself — has died amid the pandemic, the first coronavirus-related death of a local health care worker that a hospital has publicly announced thus far. Larrice Anderson, a nurse at New Orleans East Hospital, tested positive for coronavirus and died this week, LCMC Health announced Wednesday afternoon. (Gallo and Woodruff, 4/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coronavirus In Milwaukee: Ascension Hospital Cleaners Quit Over PPE
At least four housekeepers who clean hospital rooms at Ascension St. Francis Hospital on Milwaukee’s south side have quit in the last two weeks, and others are threatening to leave, over allegations they are not being provided proper protective gear. Employed by TouchPoint, a contractor for Ascension, the housekeepers say they were told to clean rooms where COVID-19 patients were being treated, or had been prior to discharge, while each was supplied with only a single mask to wear throughout their shifts. (Rutledge, 4/1)