'I Am Terrified:' Atlantic Health Care Worker Raises Alarm Bells

Editor's note: The Atlantic Health employee, afraid of reprisals, agreed to speak to Patch about her experience on the condition of anonymity. The author knows her identity and verified her employment before agreeing to tell her story.

NEW JERSEY - For many, ehe outbreak of the new coronavirus has strained the healthcare system to a breaking point And an employee of a major hospital network in New Jersey says her company is making the situation worse.

Diana is one of the approximately 17,000 employees that work for Atlantic Health Systems, a company that owns Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, Newton Medical Center, Chilton Medical Center, Hackettstown Medical Center, Goryeb Children's Hospital and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute.

While her department does not require her to interact with patients, it does require her to interact with the healthcare providers who do. Diana says that her places her at risk of bringing the illness home to her at-risk loved ones.

Diana maintains that her company's policy of forcing all employees to show up physically for work is increasing the risk to the community.

"To the best of my knowledge, Atlantic Health has not deemed any employees non-essential and allowed work from home. To the contrary, in an email on March 14 our CEO expressed that all 17,000 of us are 'caregivers,' setting the stage not to identify all of us as non-essential," she told Patch. "I received word my department, non-clinical, no patient related responsibilities, would not be permitted to work from home. We must report to the office in case we were needed to do 'other' tasks."

For their part, Atlantic Health officials said their focus is providing a safe workplace so that their team can continue to be there for their loved ones and the community.

"At Atlantic Health System, our workforce prepares for all kinds of unexpected situations, but COVID-19 is very different. Thanks to our dedicated team of 17,000, our doors are open 24/7 to care for the communities that rely on us," officials said in a statement. "Many members of our workforce are on the frontlines providing care, while others are supporting that care through their daily work. Despite these varying roles, we are one team, dedicated to building healthier communities. We are committed to providing a safe workplace so that our team can continue to be there for their loved ones and our community."

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'I Am Terrified'

"My department works in and exclusively administrative capacity. We are, however, exposed to healthcare providers who have certainly, potentially been exposed," she said. "Our administrative tasks have not been eliminated and can be done exclusively from home."

This is why the stance by Atlantic Health came as such a shock to Diana. But more than shock, the news came with fear.

"My reaction when I learned I would absolutely not be permitted to work from home, frankly, was panic," she said. "I feel this puts more people at risk because every recommendation is 'stay home' if you can. Out of 17,000 employees, how many do not actually need to be in the hospital? How many of those people who could be working from home are risking exposure, and by extension the exposure of their families? How many of those family members are elderly and not "low risk?" How many of those people have children, who are being forced to go to day care, and expose the day care workers and their families? The implications are staggering and I am terrified."

Diana said these administrative employees have been "begging" for masks and other personal protection equipment to no avail due to their lack of availability.

"The cases we are potentially creating by not reducing our workforce is irresponsible and immoral," Diana said, noting that her complaints have been ignored.

Atlantic Health officials said protection of their patients is their top priority, and doing so is not possible without the protection of our team members.

"From early measures to more closely manage the distribution of supplies, to more recent efforts to develop in-house solutions and manage supplies donated by the community in light of national shortages, we are providing the PPE required to protect our team members so they can provide care for our patients," officials said.

Atlantic Health officials said that roles within the organization continue to evolve as there are now needs that did not exist just a few weeks ago as they try to meet the unprecedented demand for care. While outpatient services have been reduced, they have deployed outpatient caregivers to centralized distribution center to strengthen critical infrastructure.

"Several HR team members are now greeting patients in our medical centers. Many of our team members are working remotely at this time, while others are taking on new responsibilities at our care sites. In sum, changes happening all across our system are enabling us to shift team members to areas with greater need while making the most of their individual talents," they said.

Atlantic Health also noted that many businesses are closing or laying off employees and they are working hard to ensure team members are supported and remain fully employed during this crisis.

"Our employee resource center is available to support every Atlantic Health team member in meeting their individual challenges and needs," officials said.

But Diana said those measures aren't enough, and options are limited since employees were told mid-March no personal leaves for non-medical reasons will be approved. According to Diana, this reaction has put people at risk needlessly.

"Non-clinical, non-essential employees are terrified to come to work, but also terrified to lose their jobs. With a staff of 17,000, there are certainly many who could and should be working remotely to reduce the threat to the public," she said. "I am terrified by the scope of potential exposure to so many. By Atlantic Health System's own admission, we don't have the resources we need to care for our community."

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This article originally appeared on the Morristown Patch