Protest planned at Riverside hospital due to unsafe working conditions, lack of PPE

Riverside Community Hospital workers claim unsafe working conditions

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Dozens of healthcare workers at Riverside Community Hospital plan to picket outside the facility on Friday over what they say are unsafe working conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment during the pandemic.

Hospital employees recently picketed for 10 days over the same issues.

Riverside County has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the entire state, behind Los Angeles County.

Riverside County has an average positivity rate of 20%, which is more than double the state threshold of 8%.

As cases continue to climb, workers plan to walkout at the Riverside hospital.

SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, the union that represents 1,000 of the hospital’s employees said workers are frustrated due to a lack of PPE and are often told to recycle single-use equipment like masks and gloves.

A spokesperson for the hospital responded to the planned demonstration and said in part:

"While we currently have adequate supplies of PPE, we continue to provide safeguards that are consistent with CDC guidelines and help ensure the protection of our colleagues, not only today but into the future as the pandemic evolves.

SEIU fails to recognize the reality all hospitals nationwide are facing, that this pandemic has strained the worldwide supply of personal protective equipment, including masks, face shields and gowns.”

The three-hour demonstration is planned to start at 11 a.m.

The protest is not expected to impact the treatment of patients. However, hospitals in Riverside County are dealing with staff shortages.

On Thursday, a team of 21 medical personnel from the US Air Force arrived at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage to assist with staffing needs for at least the next 30 days.

In Riverside County, the age bracket with the largest amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases is between the ages of 18 and 39, comprising 11,803 total infections, according to county health officials.

To date, most of the fatalities in Riverside County have been people between the ages of 65 and 84.

Riverside County health officials Thursday reported 806 more confirmed coronavirus infections, and eight more deaths attributed to the coronavirus, as the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in county facilities dropped by more than a dozen.

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The aggregate coronavirus count countywide is now 28,177, and the death toll is 585, according to the Riverside University Health System. The documentation period for the data stretches back to early March.

The known active COVID-19 case count Thursday was 17,321, up 640 from Wednesday. According to the county's Executive Office, the active case count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current cumulative total, 28,177.

The number of confirmed patient recoveries is 10,271, officials said.

The county defines a recovery as someone who has not exhibited any COVID-19 symptoms for at least 14 days.

FOX 11's Mario Ramirez and CNS contributed to this report.