Frontline nurses at the notorious Rikers Island jail say they are struggling to treat inmates who don’t even have enough soap and running water to keep the coronavirus at bay.
Social distancing is not enforced at the jail, and there is a dangerous shortage of protective gear and test kits, nurses complained at a rally there on Thursday.
“Let me tell you someting — COVID has hit hard beyond these walls,” said Rikers nurse Neshia McDonald, one of 30 nurses to march outside the jail.
“We are Rikers nurses, and we’re asking the public, please, we are doing the job that people are not lining up to do. And we are asking for your help.”
Nurses at the jail are mourning colleague William Chan, who McDonald said died on Wednesday after a COVID-19 patient threw up on him.
“This is not about coffee, donuts,” she said. “This is not about ‘Likes.’ This is reality. We’re asking you to keep us in your prayers because we are working.”
McDonald’s complaints echo those of correction officers, who have also complained that jails are inadequately stocked with hand sanitizer and masks and other protective gear for employees.
Thursday’s rally was organized by the New York State Nurses Association, whose reps said they were speaking out during National Nurses Week to demand respect for “frontline” nurses at Rikers and beyond.
They are calling for the restoration of $2.5 billion in Medicaid cuts to next year’s state budget to help stock and staff all “safety net” public hospitals.
“We’re asking for support from our leaders to make sure that we walk into these environments with the proper gear that we need, and that we’re able to provide proper care and proper equipment to our patients,” said Alicia Butler, president of the New York State Nurses Association.
“We all need to be protected,” she said outside Rikers. “It’s not acceptable to keep regurgitating the same minimum recommendations … please don’t send us here and put us at risk.”