On April 13, Highland Hospital fired a nurse for wearing a trash bag as a gown. This nurse was forced to do this when he realized that there were less than 20 gowns left to be used by the whole staff for the rest of the week. This nurse also happened to have a wife at home who is battling cancer, and a small child. He needed to do something to protect them, and wearing a trash bag over his uniform was the only option he saw available.
At first management congratulated him on his ingenuity, but soon after the picture of him wearing this appalling excuse for PPE (personal protective equipment) made it to the SF Chronicle, they changed their minds and decided to fire him. Management used some bogus excuse of missed documentation, despite the fact of having never been written up or given any warning. Now this man who was trying to protect himself, his family, and his patients, has been left without income and without the medical insurance so desperately needed by his wife.
His only mistake was making the choice that thousands of healthcare workers make every day: choosing between his job or his life. He chose life and this is the price the bosses are asking him to pay for it.
Featured image credit: Criselle Cruz Bermas / New York Post
