At the beginning of the pandemic, health care workers were viewed as heroes. Now, some in Central New York say they are being treated like villains.
Mohawk Valley Health System staff are reporting an increasing amount of threats and bullying from patients and their family members. Dr. Avinash Kambhampati, assistant medical director for MVHS’s emergency department, says getting more residents vaccinated would alleviate a lot of tension.
What You Need To Know
- Nurses, physicians and frontline employees from the Mohawk Valley Health System have said they’ve seen an increase in threats and bullying since the pandemic began
- MVHS staff are asking the community to be understanding, show respect and kindness as they care for patients during this unprecedented time
- Dr. Avinash Kambhampati, assistant medical director for MVHS’s emergency department, says getting more residents vaccinated would alleviate a lot of tension
“In the emergency department, we’re the first line,” Kambhampati said. “I’m the one who’s putting the person on the ventilator when they’re sick. We’re the one that’s resuscitating them when they’re ill and we’re often the persons that they see. My colleagues in the emergency department and the nurses and the techs are unfortunately the ones getting hit with the abuse.”
Kambhampati says he understands families with loved ones in the hospital are stressed, but says staff members are too, especially with workforce shortages and an increase in patients. Kambhampati says staff might be able to better keep up with emergency room demands if people took preventative measures so they had a better chance of not ending up in a hospital due to COVID.
“A majority of the people that are profoundly ill in our hospital right now in the intensive care unit and on the floors are unvaccinated individuals,” Kambhampati said. “If you really want to decrease some of the stress on the emergency department, consider getting vaccinated.”
Kambhampati says the abuse doesn’t stop in his department either, putting stress on staff throughout the health care system. He says if families want to help struggling staff, they can designate one person to call for patient updates.
“Fueling those phone calls, a call bell is not getting answered or somebody may not be able to get to another person in another room on time,” Kambhampati said. “So just think about that and just show some empathy.”
Above all, MVHS staff are asking for more patience from the community as everyone works through these challenging times.
