‘It’s Been a Matter of Life and Death.’ Dr. Bonnie Castillo on How Nurses Have Been Left to Fend for Themselves During the Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched on, the American health care system has depended on the tireless efforts of nurses to care for the ill, tend to the dying, and stop the illness from seeping outside hospital doors. But despite all of these nurses’ dedication, they themselves have been let down—not only by state and local governments, but by the health care system as a whole, says Bonnie Castillo, a registered nurse and executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association. Castillo, who was recognized for her advocacy work as a member of the 2020 TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world, has been calling attention to shortages of personal protective equipment to protect health care workers for at least six months. But as she told Senior TIME Correspondent Alice Park in a TIME100 Talks discussion, the U.S. is still coming up short on essential items like N95 face masks, leaving nurses unable to protect themselves, the public or their patients. To make up for these shortfalls, Castillo feels that the U.S. must enact the Defense Production Act, which some critics feel the federal government has not employed aggressively enough to provide enough masks for health care workers. “It’s very frustrating because we know what we need,” says Castillo, noting that countries like South Korea have successfully produced their own personal protective equipment. “While we say the virus is novel, the science ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 TIME100 Talks Source Type: news