Virtua Gave Faulty Masks To Nurses Fighting Coronavirus: Union

MOUNT HOLLY – A union representing nurses at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly has filed a complaint against the health system, alleging it gave nurses who were tending to patients infected with new coronavirus defective — and possibly counterfeit — masks.

Health Professionals and Allied Employees Union President Debbie White said Virtua distributed KN95 masks that failed to meet federal health standards to nurses who were tending to patients with the coronavirus.

White said administrators ignored the union when representatives confronted them, and a federal complaint was subsequently filed. The complaint is only against Virtua Memorial, and the union only represents nurses at that hospital, one of three in the Virtua Health System. Virtua has said the masks it received came from the state, and that the allegations in the complaint are not true.

“This is a basic health and safety issue,” White said. “The employer should be doing their due diligence to make sure what they are getting is genuine. Our impression is that they just took it at face value.”

“We can say, unequivocally, that this complaint is not true," Virtua Health Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Dr. John Matsinger said. "We have taken every step necessary to ensure that our health care workers, particularly those engaged in direct patient care in high-risk areas and procedures, have the equipment, supplies, and support needed to address this unprecedented public health emergency."

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KN95 masks are made in China, and are comparable to N95 masks used in America. N95 masks are tested and certified by a branch of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), while KN95 masks are regulated by the countries it is imported from. Some KN95 masks have been approved for use in America by the CDC.

However, White said the masks distributed to nurses the weekend of April 11 are not on the list of KN95 masks that have been certified for use in this country. Employers are required to conduct what is known as a fit test for the masks. Nurses put on the masks and saccharine is squirted in their face. If they can’t taste the saccharine, that means a seal has been formed around their face, and no viruses can penetrate their body. If they can taste the saccharine, there is no seal and they are vulnerable to disease.

In this case, Virtua told nurses that the masks were one size fits all, but White said there are no one size fits all masks for N95s. Additionally, nurses perform their own daily seal check, in which they place the masks on their faces. When they move around, no air is supposed to be able to escape. In this case, nurses told the union air was escaping on the sides.

“When they did the seal check, they found there was no seal,” White said.

Counterfeit masks can be spotted by the fact that the loops go around the ears instead of the head. Seals can’t be formed when the loops go around the ears, White said.

When they got a hold of the shipping box the masks came in, the union was able to determine the masks were counterfeit.

“Our members were terrified,” White said.

When they approached Virtua, health system officials asked to see the data. When they presented the data, White said the union expected Virtua would take action. But they didn’t, White said. The union then filed a complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

“I’m not saying they did anything deliberately,” White said. “I’m saying they had an obligation to protect their employees. The most troubling part for us is that 10 days later, the masks are still out there as if they are N95 masks, and they aren’t. There has been no communication from the employers to the employees. There are some nurses who continue to use the masks and believe they are being protected, and they aren’t.”

"The KN95s we are using were received from the state, who acquired them from the Federal stockpile," Matsinger said. "They are FDA-approved and used as an alternative during shortage of specific sizes of N95s."

White wants OSHA to conduct an investigation and make a determination on what they find. The union only represents worker at Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly. Virtua's other hospitals have different union representation.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know