’My wife is a fighter’: Post says Tidelands nurse in ICU after helping COVID-19 patients
A Tidelands hospital nurse is in the critical care unit after treating coronavirus patients without appropriate safety gear, her husband claims in a Facebook post.
Troy Perry posted on Facebook Saturday evening about his wife Ambrosia Perry and stated she is on the verge of being intubated. Ambrosia Perry works at Tidelands Waccamaw hospital outside of Myrtle Beach, according to her social media accounts.
Troy Perry says his wife is a healthy 28-year-old woman who works as a nurse in the emergency room.
“Her Unit Director told her he imagines she has single handily treated more Positive COVID-19 patients than any other single person in our state,” Troy perry wrote in the post shared by more than 5,000 people.
Ambrosia had to treat patients without personal protective equipment, Troy Perry states. A week ago, when patients visited the hospital, they were assessed for COVID-19 symptoms, Troy Perry wrote. If a patient had other symptoms, nurses were reprimanded for wearing protective gear.
Days later, nurses were told not to wear protective gear, Troy Perry said. He also said a patient tested positive and officials called his wife to tell her she was exposed.
Troy Perry states that because of policies written by administrators, his wife and other medical personnel will become sick.
“Now please someone explain to me how in the middle of a global crisis involving a novel virus, the likes of which no one truly knows nothing about, would you threaten to fire employees for trying to protect themselves?” Perry asked in the post.
“My wife is a fighter, she is strong and has youth on her side! However there are many medical professionals out there who could be immunocompromised in some way, and are still not afraid to fulfill their calling,” Troy Perry stated.
Tidelands Health officials provided an email sent to their workforce on Sunday after questions over the post.
They note that the patient is in hospital and is listed in “good condition.”
Tidelands Health followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment, officials wrote in the letter. Staff had been working on new policies for the safety gear, which will go into effect on Monday.
The health system says it has a good supply of safety equipment and is working to find more, but there is a worldwide shortage.
“There is nothing more important to Tidelands Health than the safety of our team members,” Tideland administrators wrote. “We’ve all seen the news stories and images from other states – doctors without masks, nurses wearing garbage bags. That is NOT our reality here, and we are doing everything in our power to make sure it never is.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 11:58 PM.
