COVID-19 Update: March 5, 2020

As UNAC/UHCP state officers, we have been tracking your calls and talking with our team about the COVID-19 outbreak. In response to questions we’ve been getting we’ve had several conference calls and have asked Staff Representative Larry Rick, PA, to be our point person and content expert around this issue.

We’re fortunate to have someone as a union member and on our UNAC/UHCP staff with Larry’s expertise—thirty years as an infectious disease specialist, still working and well-connected in the community. Larry in connection with experts in this field will advise us on new information coming daily regarding CDC regulations, patients infected, quarantines, and other aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Contact your staff reps and local officers if you have any questions or concerns, and to keep us informed about developments around the virus response in your workplaces.

We will send out additional information as needed.

Larry has advised our teams to remain calm and stay focused on our day-to-day work. Our training will serve us well over the next few weeks to months, as it is very likely that the virus will spread further into our communities and that we will treat patients with this virus in our facilities. It is also very likely that many who get the virus might never have any symptoms beyond a sneeze, sore throat or mild cough. We don’t yet know the full spectrum of how people will display the infection. It’s possible that many mild cases will be missed, particularly in the beginning.

We are here to support patient care in our community, while keeping ourselves and our families safe. As long as we continue to pay attention and remain focused on our training, including strict infection control procedures such as hand hygiene, we can fulfill our mission. UNAC/UHCP has an important role to play locally in our workplaces and nationally as health care leaders.

Denise Duncan, RN, President
Charmaine Morales, RN, Executive Vice President
Jettie Deden-Castillo, NP, Treasurer
Elizabeth Hawkins, RN, Secretary