The donations flowed in — more than $12,000 — and Matievskaya used some of them to buy about 500 masks, 4,000 shoe covers and 150 jumpsuits. She and her colleagues at the hospital celebrated protecting themselves and their patients from the spread of the virus.
But rather than thanking the staff, hospital administrators on Saturday suspended Matievskaya for distributing “unauthorized” protective gear.
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The nurses said the situation is especially desperate because the hospital performs organ transplant operations, and those patients have compromised immune systems. A ProPublica report about the quality problems in the heart transplant program last year led to action by regulators. The hospital made the corrections required by the federal and state regulators, it said in a statement. The FBI also investigated the hospital as a result of the story, but the agency declined to comment Monday.
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The intensive care nurses said they are directed to call a “command center” when they need more supplies. But when they reach out, “You get yelled at sometimes,” one of the nurses said.
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Chris Neuwirth, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, said he feels that New Jersey is as prepared as it could have been.
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