Here's How This Culver City Hospital Is Battling The Pandemic

CULVER CITY, CA — In the early days of the pandemic, Southern California Hospital at Culver City had to make sure their staff had enough protective equipment, especially as the national shortage for PPE began. So, they developed an important system for hospital staff that helps employees know if they have enough safety gear.

"Hospital staff have a system to stay protected," Mike Klepin, Chief Executive Officer of Southern California Hospital at Culver City, told Patch.

Klepin says he's watched his colleagues sacrifice and continue their courageous work throughout the pandemic, and the hospital system is checking daily to make sure staff has what they need to stay safe.

"We’ve been in really good shape with PPE," Klepin told Patch. "Since we are part of a larger health system we have daily calls and we’re monitoring everyone’s PPE. "

From gowns to booties to face shields, the group is working to make sure the hospital staff has what they need for now and the future.

Donations have also helped to keep PPE available for staff, Klepin added.

"We talk to each other and we’re able to share from other facilities," Klepin said. "We have a board and every morning and we list the PPE. It’s a stoplight report, either green, yellow, red."

The board tells the hospital staff when they are running low on items. Green means they're good, yellow means they're running low and red means they need to add more of that supply.

"We did that to be transparent with our staff, and to share with them exactly where we are," Klepin told Patch.

At one point the hospital had a moment when wipes went into red, but because of the system in place they had they were able to get more, he said.

"We’ve learned a lot," Klepin told Patch. "I think everybody feels very confident."

These efforts so far are helping staff, but the hospital is also doing more, Mike McGinty, Chief Nursing Officer Southern California Hospital at Culver City, told Patch.

It's not just the physical toll of the work, he said. Staff members also need help outside the hospital.

Staff is also offered hotel stipends, free lunch and breakfast, along with child care stipends, McGinty told Patch.

"There’s just an enormous amount of stuff we have done, besides PPE that really help with being an employee at this time," McGinty told Patch.

"I think the real story is how good we have done," McGinty said. "We have these enormous hospitals that had some issues with PPE here and there that you see out in the media and everything, but here we’re a decent-sized facility and we’ve given all our employees not only what is recommended but more."

PPE is in high demand at hospitals across the U.S. in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with many health care workers demanding more transparency.

In Santa Monica last month, at least 15 nurses at Providence Saint John's Health Center refused to treat coronavirus patients unless they were given N95 masks or better, according to the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. Ten of those nurses were subsequently suspended.

Providence is providing the N95 masks to nurses treating COVID-19 patients. Nurses who were suspended with paid leave have disciplinary actions on their records.

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