St. Louis health care workers are dying on the job. Investigations into deaths offer few answers, ra

ST. LOUIS — Health care workers are putting their lives on the line every day to care for others during the COVID-19 pandemic. For five women in the St. Louis area who died of COVID-19, it cost everything.

Jasmine Whitfield has seen it from both sides. She’s a licensed practical nurse who has lost two loved ones to COVID-19. The first was her mother, Cynthia, a certified medical technician at Grand Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation.

“She took every precaution not to get sick and she still got sick, you know,” Whitfield said. “She went and bought her own mask because they weren’t provided by the job.”

Whitfield believes Grand Manor’s policies around personal protective equipment and sick leave lead to her mother’s death.

“They have lives on their hands,” she said.

In April, St. Louis city had its first spike of COVID-19 cases, averaging about 38 new positive tests every day. Cynthia started to feel unwell and got tested on April 9. While she waited for the results, Whitfield said, the symptoms got worse.

“Achy, body chills, fever, having all these symptoms,” remembered Whitfield. “She did not want to go to work. She asked if she could be off, she wasn’t feeling good.”

Whitfield told the I-Team that Grand Manor did not grant Cynthia’s request for paid time off. Instead, Whitfield said, Cynthia had just one day off. Cynthia returned to work sometime over the weekend. She was sent home by a nurse on Sunday.

Click the link for the full story: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/investigations/osha-investigates-health-care-worker-covid19-deaths-st-louis/63-e0b6e32e-eb6d-494c-ab6c-76cfcad22721

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