Hospital Staff 'Looking for Reasons to Make Trouble' Amid COVID, CEO Says Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
April 14, 2020 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928708 - - - - - Matching the surge in COVID-19 cases is a surge of healthcare workers who won't speak to journalists for fear of losing their jobs. Why the sudden spook? The top brass at hospitals and healthcare systems across the country have become so concerned about reputation that they've been issuing gag orders to their staff, prohibiting them from speaking to the press. Some physicians and other healthcare workers have been disciplined or even fired for speaking up about shortages of personal protective equipment or concern for their colleagues' safety. The problem is much larger than hospital reputations, however, and many have spoken up in concern that the practice will negatively affect public health <https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928147>. Yet the unofficial policies persist. Just last Thursday, April 9, the CEO of Woodhull Hospital, in Brooklyn, called out employees for speaking to the press. Administrators at the hospital, one of eleven in NYC Health + Hospitals' public system, host a daily conference call to keep employees up to speed on rapidly changing situations and policies. Recent calls have left staffers anxious about being reprimanded for speaking up for safety concerns for themselves and patients, employees said. In last week's meeting, a recording of which was obtained by *Medscape Medical News*, hospital CEO Gregory Calliste chastised employees for speaking to journalists about various concerns. The following is an excerpted transcript of that video conference: *Click on the link for the transcript.* -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to newsfromunderground+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to newsfromunderground+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W9pSxUah1AhKazavM0X3%2BqkrJb4BEeGodeBPBqmgeyQAA%40mail.gmail.com.
