Hospital workers across the U.S. present sharply different pictures of their preparedness for the coronavirus
U.S. hospitals are bracing for an onslaught of patients sickened by the new coronavirus, shoring up supplies, refining crisis plans, and putting on a brave face. But there’s another narrative at play: Many health workers feel left in the lurch.
STAT heard in recent days from dozens of frontline hospital employees, and depending on where they worked, they presented sharply different pictures of preparedness. There are those who believe their health systems are equipped to weather the coming storm. Others are less sure.
“For the hospitals, it depends on who is in charge — what camp your leadership is in,” an anesthesiologist on the East Coast, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told STAT. “There’s been the ‘just the flu’ contingent, and everyone else.”
Terry Adirim, a trained pediatric emergency physician who helps lead clinical care at Florida Atlantic University College of Medicine, agreed that there is “variability in preparedness” that has to do with hospital leadership. But the former senior Department of Defense and Homeland Security official added, “I think that comes because federal guidances haven’t been as strong as they
