More than 50 Saint Vincent nurses furloughed

Photo | Grant Welker Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester

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More than 50 nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester have taken what the hospital says are voluntary furloughs.

Saint Vincent has also redeployed nurses to allow the hospital to direct resources to where they're most needed during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement by CEO Carolyn Jackson.

“It is of critical importance that the nurses and other employees who typically work in the units impacted by the executive orders are either redeployed to help provide COVID care or to do other necessary work in the hospital; otherwise in this crisis, no person should be in the hospital using valuable PPE unless they need to be," Jackson said in a statement, referring to personal protective equipment.

"I want to recognize those nurses who typically work in these areas and have requested to participate in our furlough program, which has been only voluntary for nurses – not mandatory," she said.

The hospital had 72 confirmed or suspected inpatient coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Of those, 11 are in intensive care.

Saint Vincent has been criticized by the Massachusetts Nurses Association for what the union says are documented incidents by nurses of a lack of staff and resources risking patients' health and safety, many of them who have coronavirus. The hospital, the union said, eliminated agreed-upon additional staffing the association says are necessary for caring for coronavirus patients during the pandemic, and has made significant cuts in nurses aids and other staff who help treat patients.

Saint Vincent declined to comment on the allegations.