UCLA nurses call for improved Ebola preparedness training
(Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin)
Officials at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center have said they are prepared to handle cases of Ebola, though some nurses say otherwise.
By Jeong Park
Oct. 30, 2014 12:46 a.m.
UCLA nurses are calling for the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to improve its procedures and equipment to better prepare for cases of Ebola.
At a demonstration Wednesday morning, about 20 nurses gathered outside the UCLA medical center to protest.
“We have a commitment to deliver safe care and we can do that only if the University of California provides us with optimal protective equipment,” said Manny Punzalan, a registered nurse at the UCLA center.
On Friday, the UC announced that its five medical centers are prepared to treat Ebola patients if needed. UCLA held a drill Oct. 17 in which a fake patient with Ebola was transferred to the intensive care unit from the emergency room.
However, nurses at UCLA and other UC medical centers said they think the centers do not have a strong training program for nurses or sufficient medical equipment to ensure that hospital workers are safe from the disease. The nurses called for hospitals to offer continuous and interactive training and safety equipment, such as a full-body hazmat suit.
“Training has to be a repetition,” Punzalan said. “That’s the only way you can put in your mind basic steps on how to put on and off a gown.”
Dr. Robert Cherry, chief medical and quality officer for UCLA Health System, said in a statement Wednesday that a small group of the system’s doctors and nurses have made a great effort to prepare for the outbreak.
He said he thinks the system provides health workers with adequate protective equipment and training.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.
