DALY CITY—Nurses from the Seton Medical Center are planning to protest on Thursday, April 2 at noon in response to a severe shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Medical staff are facing a shortage of PPE, particularly face masks. The staff is also facing a shortage of gloves and gowns. According to San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, the state has been unresponsive to the county’s cry for help.
Registered nurses will gather in front of the hospital on Thursday wearing bandanas around their face. The protest is being organized by the California Nurses Foundation and is to spread awareness about face mask shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We could have the potential of having all these COVID-19 patients and no PPE,” said Canepa at a Board of Supervisors meeting late last month. “This is about a life and death issue.”
The Seton Medical Center was planned to shut down before the coronavirus crisis, but is now being leased by the state of California during the pandemic.
Due to the high number of cases in the area, Seton’s team is expecting to see a lot of patients come through the doors within the upcoming weeks. The hospital has a total of 177 beds to accommodate patients and is already getting COVID-19 patients.
