You will likely have already seen or heard the news that that Virginia Mason Medical Center is caring for a confirmed COVID-19 patient. WSNA is working closely with public health officials. The safety of our nurses and patients are our top priority.

WSNA has assem­bled a staff leader­ship team to coordi­nate the union’s response to this issue, to inform our members, and demand action from hospital manage­ment to protect our nurse members. We have been in contact with our leaders at Virginia Mason. Our primary concern is the poten­tial exposure of this outbreak to our nurses.

WSNA demands immediate trans­parency and account­ability from hospital administration

WSNA today, demanded of Virginia Mason Medical Center admin­is­tra­tion that they immedi­ately respond to the following:

1. List of units that the infected patients were admitted to or cared for at any time in the past two weeks.
2. Dates and times of the infected patients location during the past two weeks.
3. List of nurses who had any exposure to either of the known cases during the past two weeks.
4. What specific personal protec­tive equip­ment and precau­tions were taken throughout their hospital stays?
5. Copies of all commu­ni­ca­tion, direc­tion and instruc­tions have you given to the nurses about the exposure.
6. What is the plan to commu­ni­cate with those nurses who have been exposed?
7. What instruc­tions and direc­tions have been sent to nurses if they believe they have been exposed?
8. What additional action is the hospital admin­is­tra­tion taking to protect the health and safety of the nurses?
9. List of any employee/​s who have been furloughed for precau­tion of exposure to the infected patients.
10. Will nurses have to use their PTO if furloughed, instructed to be on quaran­tine, or home ill due to poten­tial exposure? How should nurses record their time on the timekeeping system if they are home ill or on quaran­tine due to exposure?

WSNA intends to hold the hospital admin­is­tra­tion account­able to the safety and welfare of our members and we will continue to commu­ni­cate with you on developments.

Notify WSNA if you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19 in your workplace

• If you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, immedi­ately let your Local Unit Officers and WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive know.
• WSNA is tracking reported exposures so we can coordi­nate with public health officials and hold hospital admin­is­tra­tion account­able for your protec­tion as a caregiver as well as ensure applic­able contrac­tual rights and benefit are made avail­able to you.

Where can I find more infor­ma­tion about COVID-19?

• The Washington State Depart­ment of Health has estab­lished a website and call center to address questions from the public.
• If you have questions about how the virus is spread or what to do if you have symptoms, call 1−800−525−0127.
• Public Health - Seattle & King County: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information
• Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC): Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

Please contact WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive Michelle Moore at mmoore@​wsna.​org with any questions or concerns.