The California Nurses Association filed a grievance last week with St. Joseph Health System-Humboldt County on behalf of several registered nurses at its Eureka hospital whom the CNA claims have been affected by mold found growing in the new tower, still under construction, as well as in the Progressive Care Unit in an existing building connected to the tower.
The grievance, dated May 2 and addressed to Linda Cook, vice president of human resources, says the nurses “have experienced significant health symptoms” that include “severe and chronic headaches, sinus infections, heart palpitations, skin and eye irritation, congestion, and fatigue.”
According to some of these nurses — who asked to not be identified for fear of repercussions — some of them began experiencing symptoms in early 2010.
“We started talking to each other and realized a bunch of us were having the same symptoms,” said one nurse. “And some of these are people with no history of asthma, who grew up in Humboldt County and who never had an issue with mold before.”
“We’re all really young, and we’re all getting really sick,” said another nurse, who added that one nurse’s hair began falling out, and another temporarily lost vision in one eye.
The chief nurse representative, or shop steward, Kathryn Donahue, who also is on the CNA board of directors, said Monday that one young nurse is on heart medication now because her resting heart rate has been consistently in the 140s and 150s over the past many months. “That’s not OK,” said Donahue.
Several of the nurses said they first went to their primary care doctors to have blood work done to see what might be causing their symptoms, but the results showed nothing. So last July some of them asked management to order an air quality test to be conducted; they suspected mold might be an issue. Shortly after they made that request, one of the nurses said, they were given employee health incident reports to fill out, but they didn’t know how to fill them out because they didn’t know the “specific date of injury.”
“And we heard nothing about mold,” the nurse said.
In September, according to documents procured from the hospital by CNA labor representative Ian Selden, tests for mold spores in the new tower under construction came back positive for several kinds of mold in a few locations, including in some spots abundant amounts of the highly toxic aspergillis. According to an agenda from a “nurse leadership team” meeting, this spring, mold was found in a patient room, bathroom and employee break room in an existing wing of the hospital. One of the nurses speculates that mold spores from the new wing could have wafted through to the old wing whenever the plastic sheeting covering the entrance to the construction area was disturbed.
After these discoveries, some of the nurses had their doctors order a mold toxin test, and they submitted urine samples to a mold-testing firm in Texas — at nearly $700 per test, which the nurses paid for themselves, said Donahue, the shop steward. Of the five nurses tested to date by this firm, all five tested positive for one or more strains of three major molds toxins: aflatoxin, ochratoxin and trichothecenes, which can affect the liver, kidney and nervous system. Of those five nurses, two are now on disability, one switched to another department, one quit and one is still in the PCU unit, according to one of the nurses. More nurses, she said, are getting tested.
On Tuesday, St. Joseph Communications Specialist Courtney Hunt-Munther sent the Journal a statement saying the hospital is “completely committed to providing a safe working environment for our employees and a safe healing environment for our patients.”
The statement notes that mold was found late last year growing beneath the roof on the newly constructed Northeast Tower. “Because there is no airflow yet between the Northeast Tower and the current building, the mold was strictly confined underneath the roof of the new construction and has not affected any parts of the building that is currently occupied by patients and staff,” says the statement.
This April, incidentally, the hospital announced that it had terminated its contract with the company that was overseeing the new tower project, Skanska Construction Inc. But not because of the mold, said Hunt-Munther on Tuesday. “The roof issue and the Skanska termination are completely unrelated,” she said. She added that St. Joseph Health System’s Construction Department is now overseeing the completion of the project and, with subcontractors, will install a new roof later this year.
The hospital announced the mold discovery in the new tower in an employee forum, says the statement, after which an employee expressed concerns about mold in the building already in use. “We immediately hired an independent expert to test areas of the current building for mold levels,” says the statement. “The independent tests revealed mold spores in small amounts in a few areas, principally due to water leakage.” However, the statement emphasizes, except for one patient bathroom, which was fixed and from which mold was removed, the highest mold spore count inside the building where employees were working was 10 times less than the count in the outside air.
The statement notes as well that the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) inspected the hospital and examined the areas where mold had been found and treated by the hospital, analyzed expert reports, spoke with employees and concluded the hospital had taken all appropriate actions. “The inspector had no additional recommendations,” says the statement.
It says the hospital has contracted with an outside expert to test other areas in the hospital for mold. And, it says, the hospital encourages employees to come forward and report any symptoms they might be experiencing to Employee Health.
Some of the nurses who are party to the grievance, however, claim that when they reported their symptoms, concerns and test results to hospital management, they were treated rudely and dismissively. Furthermore, said Donahue — who works in another unit and is not one of the nurses reporting symptoms — some of the nurses told her they were asked to keep quiet about their test results.
Donahue said some of the nurses have filed worker’s compensation claims with the hospital, while others have not. Some (even one who didn’t file) were contacted by a worker’s comp investigation firm, and one nurse who filed for worker’s comp had her request for a referral to get a toxicology test done denied. The hospital, Donahue said, appears to be denying any connection between mold in the hospital and the mold toxins present in the nurses who’ve been tested.
“All the nurses want is to have the hospital own what is happening,” said Donahue. “They want to know how the hospital is going to help them — with testing and with paying for their medical bills.”
A meeting with union reps, the nurses and the hospital is in the works, said Donahue.
This article appears in Queasy Eats.
shame on st. joe for cover up
I second “JoJo”. There is definitely something fishy about St. Joe’s response and reaction to its employee’s reports of illness. To have so many of them reporting similar symptoms and some being on heart medications. Any HONEST employee would do all they can to help their employee’s get back to their health baseline or better, not try to be so defensive from the start. St. Joe has done nothing to help their employee’s except for deny all accusations. They did the minimun they had to by calling OSHA, etc. These nurses aren’t threatening to shut you down, they just need help getting healthy again and are trying to protect anyone else from becoming sick like them. Grow some balls St. Joe!!
I bet when OSHA came they didn’t lift up the ceiling panels above the PCU, ICU and medsurg units to find the plastic basins catching dripping water from leaking pipes.
And isn’t it interesting that SJH scrambled to clean up (hide!) signs of water damage in rooms on the PCU, practically hours before OSHA came to inspect.
Where is the concern for the PATIENTS in all of this?! That should be just as big an issue as the health of the nurses.
Where is the concern for the PATIENTS in all of this?! That should be just as big an issue as the health of the nurses.
I know one of the nurses personally and can say that from day one she has consistantly stated; “If I am getting this sick and I am young and healthy, what’s it doing to our immune compromised patient’s”. These nurses are not just worried about their health, they are extremely worried about their patients.
St. Joe’s stance of “there is no mold” is a flipping joke.
The statement “there is more mold in the outside air”, is misleading at best. Yes the total mold spore count outside is greater than inside, however the total spore count of Aspergillus inside the rooms on PCU is much greater than that outside, and this is according to St. Joseph’s own documents.
Aspergillus is the mold causing all the mycotoxins in these nurses and quite possibly other staff members. These nurses have been so harrassed and intimidated that other staff who are having symptoms are scared to get tested.
When the affected nurses raised questions about patients safety, they were met with rolling of eyes and sighs.
St. Joe’s needs to clean it up, take care of the patients and nurses and stop making my friends life more difficult. She is a wonderful nurse who gives alot of herself to the patients she cares for as well as St. Joe’s.
Everyone keeps talking about there being “more mold outside than inside”. Yes, there is more mold outside than inside, but Aspergillus is highly toxic, and there is more of this TOXIC mold inside than outside. This mold is found inside patient rooms, not to mention the 3rd floor break room, where nurses eat and rest. How many of these nurses have taken the spores home with them to their families, on their clothes? How many of these nurses are pregnant? If it’s wreaking this havoc on healthy young, adult nurses, what is it doing to their fetuses?
Congratulations to Times Standard for finally reporting the negative news about St. Joseph’s hospital. I was wondering what level of conspiracy was going on.
St. Joseph is a part of a large out-of-Humboldt religious megacorporation. Patients are units and products, and the workers are cogs in the big machine. They pay no local taxes, siphon off profits for the Orange County headquarters, and then toss some crumbs locally to the groups that serve them.
Take the easy drive to Redding, Santa Rosa, or Davis for health care from a busier center with more equipment, experience, and priority for patients. Even Mad River is a more sensible/less expensive choice with the same doctors, and the dollars stay local.
How many patients have these symptoms the nurses are suffering from, but have no idea it’s from mold exposure? The hospital is doing a disservice to the public by not notifying them of their possible exposure to toxic molds. St. Joe’s boasts about its values but hides behind the nuns’ habits when it’s time to step up to the plate and take responsibility. This catholic hospital is just like the priests and the catholic church–involved in cover up after cover up in an abuse of power. The nurses and patients are innocent victims of yet another pervert in this corporate reign of St. Joseph.
Oops. Not the Times Standard, but North Coast Journal. Thanks to the NCJ for reporting what we need to know about our local hospital.
Pooh on Times Standard for being in the pocket of the Corporate Sisters and not being their for your public. Not a word about any of this.
Housekeeper at St. Joseph found a desiccated mouse, stuck in a little mouse trap, stuck in goo, in the MRI. Also found dried old blood on one of the beds.
Anyone who goes there as a patient have a friend check the room and take pictures with his/her cell phone.
Rumor has it the manager of employee health just admitted to having lied to the worker’s comp company about there indeed being mold in the hospital, hindering the ability of the some nurses to receive much needed medical care.
Go forth to employee health, young nurses! See where that will get you.
I work in EVS I and one other housekeeper that I know of also experienced health issues and hair loss. Our hair is growing back now but we related it to stress now I know. Thank you.
EVS Aide, if you’re still employed in the building, you’re not out of the woods yet! The building is still contaminated. Nurses still working are still sick. If your hair is growing back, it only because you’ve had to call in sick, giving your body as chance to temporarily gain strength.
Toxins released from certain species of Aspergillus are the most carcinogenic toxins know to mankind!! By covering this up, the good Saint Joe is wielding a sharp and bloody axe at the poor members of our community.
Below is the link to NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. If you are concerned at all, please fill this out and the CDC (NIOSH) will examine your claim. You can do it anonymously, without your employer knowing.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/hheform.html
?? It seems like the hospital is doing the best it can… bringing in outside inspectors, etc. It would be nice to see some facts instead of an article that pits the word of the nurses against the word of the hospital. Also, any counterpoints to the nurses’ allegations are buried on the 2nd page. The nurses should continue to bring any health problems they are having (that are realistically related to their work environment) to the attention of st Jo’s, but maligning the hospital’s efforts to ameliorate the situation just makes them look vindictive.
As one of two board certified pulmonary physicians in Humboldt, I have dealt with patient concerns about possible mold-related health effects for 25 years. Several critical facts were absent from the NCJ article. In addition, the article failed, in every way, to distinguish correlation from cause. The diagnosis of mold-related disease is made by establishing a clear history of substantial exposure, clear cut symptoms suggesting specific respiratory system disease which are followed by confirmatory tests. “Heart palpitations, chronic headaches, skin irritation and fatigue” are complaints that are not specific for any mold-related illness. All urine assays for “mycotoxins” are considered worthless by the American Thoracic Association, American College of Allergy and Immunology and the American Association of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, because the are not helpful in diagnosing any disease. They merely document an exposure to broad categories of mold. In Humboldt County, urine mycotoxin assays would probably be positive in every person who has lived here longer than 4 weeks. Had the North Coast Journal bothered to seek some informed medical opinion about these issues, it would have at least been able to avoid looking so uninformed. To me, this whole picture looks like a group of nurses became alarmed, they took matters into their own hands, they convinced a physician in the community to order an inappropriate test and now want St. Joe’s to pick up the tab. When the hospital refused, the nurses embarked on a campaign to recruit the NCJ in their efforts. Almost pulled it off….
Thank you, Dr. Sageman. Its refreshing to get an opinion from someone who obviously doesn’t know all of the facts…AND gets a paycheck from the hospital!!!!!!! We know where your interests lay. Good effort though! Can’t blame you and Stephanie for trying!!
Trust me everyone this will be a 3-4 part article. The facts WILL come out. I just find it interesting that when the nurses asked for a sample of the mold in the hospital (so they could test the DNA against they’re mold DNA) they were denied. Wouldn’t this prove cretin things…. The mold is the same or not?
Dr. Sparky – as one of the hospital’s administrators you are proving these nurses claims of hostile work environments. To completely dismiss any discussion of the posiblility without at first talking to the nurses themselves is an interesting stance to take as an MD. You are supposed to gather all the facts before you hand out your “diagnosis”, I find it a bit disturbing that you would make a snap judgement without even examining the nurses and their labs. Do you do this in regular practice with other patients? Is this your way of talking to and treating patients? As an educated human I am sure you will agree that you do not know all the facts, and you are not an expert in mold, nor are you a toxicologist. I would hope that you would take the time to contact these nurses themselves and discuss your concerns, rather than just post blogs. As for your claim that they want St. Joe’s to pick up the tab, you and the other administrators are the ones who are looking at this and seeing only dollar signs. These nurses are just trying to figure out what is going on with them, they don’t want anything other than to get better. In July of 2010, nurses on the PCU unit asked for air quality testing to be done because so many of them were feeling poor at work, that was before anyone even knew about the mold issues. So to say they heard about the mold and then became alarmed is not only false but more than a little condescending. The fact that they had to go to the NCJ for help only points out how poorly they were being treated.
To BT- the nurses are not trying to be vindicitve they are trying to get answers. In the course of tying to find out what is going on they have been treated poorly and harassed.
These comments show an amazing array of reactions to this issue. 25 years ago, mold represented non-issues, but today the public is much more aware that certain fungi make poisonous byproducts called “mycotoxins” and many of these are hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, neurotoxic and even genotoxic. At least several are now known carcinogens! So to state that they are not problematic as Dr. Sparky has, is ignorance at best. In his defense, he has every right to be ignorant since no medical school offers courses in Mycology. It scares me that these seeming “conservative” diagnosticians have no earthly idea that mycotoxins, even in very small amounts like those in peanuts, corn and alcohol can injure and kill.
Did anyone else see the irony that St Joe’s has admitted that the only bathroom wall photographed by a nurse is moldy….but no others?
You people are really digging deep this time. We live in Humboldt County, a damp climate. Mold is everywhere. Sounds like the air quality reports came back totally fine, better than the outside air. Hate to say it but quitcher bitchin and get back to caring for the patients.
Average Joe – Yes mold is everywhere, but toxic mold is not. The reports show very clearly that the toxic mold in the hospital is up to 100 times greater than the outside air. As for them getting back to caring for the patients, they have never stopped, nor will they ever stop. These are dedicated nurses who have from the very begining said their chief concern was for how this could be affecting their patients. I would encourage you to spend some time researching just how badly toxic molds can affect ones health before you pass judgement.
Joe – Actually they have never been able to get a copy of the air quality test from 2010…the hospital seems to have “lost” it.
Indoor mold is very dangerous. Nurses are a large group that get sick from water damage/indoor mold. I would take samples from some place where there is visible mold. You just have to cut a piece out or use a piece of tape and rub it against where you can see some mold.Where gloves, and have a witness and put in a plastic bag and send to have tested. Label with date and time.
And this being in California explains some of the problem. Already there are problems with workman’s comp. there and many judges, etc. The agency that gives out the info to doctors, hospitals, etc. is not giving out the proper info for people to properly protect themselves. I would not want to go to this hospital if there is a health issue.
I sure hope Ms. Walters does a 2nd or 3rd piece on this.
Wonderful! A group of goldbricking nurses are now extorting money from our community hospital. Mold exposure? What a racket! It’s a CNA sponsored shake down. Does anyone know the names of these parasites? I sure wouldn’t want any of them to be taking care of myself or my family. They’re only hurting all the excellent nurses that really do give a damn. And does anyone know the name of the quack doc who ran the $700 test that supposedly proves that they were exposed to “toxic mold?” I’d be willing to bet that this particular “doctor” either works for the CNA or runs a methadone clinic in Humboldt County.
Dear Fed Up – Wow….parasites!? It is so interesting that this issue brings out such anger in people. They are only trying to figure out why they are sick, and in the process protect patients such as yourself and your family. I am utterly amazed at people who look at this issue and see only dollar signs, it says a great deal about peoples priorities in life. As for hurting the excellent nurses who really do give a damn; these are excellent nurses who really do give a damn….in fact they give so much of a “damn” that they have stuck their necks out to try and protect this community. I would encourage you to do some reading on Aspergillus and it’s health effects.
Parasites….That is a very interesting word in deed! These are all young, healthy people who have developed a bazaar set of symptoms, . They all have families, and children. They want nothing more than to be well enough to see their life responsibilities be met. They want to be well enough to play and care for their young children. Well enough to see them to adult hood and hopefully meet their grandchildren some day. The only common thread being their place of employment. As for the doctors prescribing these tests….They are all different. Mostly these peoples primary care doctors, due to the fact that they can’t even get the hospitals work comp doc to listen to word they have to say. In fact, if you read his reports you’ll find he just makes it up as he goes along. Which, sense he refuses these people witnesses in his exam room, isn’t that difficult, leaving him free to make up what ever he wants, and he does. He’s a liar, the hospital’s employee health nurse is a liar, and has been known for it for years. Those two are the reason the nurses aren’t getting the treatment and care the need, no one else. Those two are the rotten apples in the barrel. The doctor lies in his reports and the employee health nurse, by her own admission, lies to the work comp company, stating “there is no mold in the hospital”
Administration is aware, and have directed her to rectify her actions. I just hope they have followed up on that, because God knows that woman has ZERO moral conscience!
I worked at st joe and all I can say for the nurses are they try to find anything to get the hospital in trouble how about we close it and you find new jobs or even better go find a place you want to work at oh wait you need somthing to complain about to bad you get all the bennys and money you do i say bring in travlers and let you go
Sparky MD, you can’t be that stupid, well whats that old saying? What do they call the med student that finishes last in his class?
answer: Doctor.
It funny in upstate Newyork all the bats are dying they finally traced it down to fungi (mold in the caves) Not one insurance company has contested that. You know why?
Bats don’t sue.
I’ve met one of the researchers that was Paid off to write a slanted report on how mold can’t hurt you. Dr. You are either a sell out or a moron. which is it?
I have only recently had an experience at St. Joe when my husband was transferred for a procedure TO St. Joe. I guess one could make some excuse for the fact that they are under renovation, but standards of cleanliness – the most basic that I have experienced at Mad River, who are meticulous – was a little hard to believe. My experience there told me that these nurses are not appreciated by the hosp., not empowered to perform as nurses – the most crucial part of actually getting better, and with many traveling nurses (no offense whatsoever to the good travelling nurses we were served by), coming and going there appears to be no cohesiveness or no real means of keeping good lines of communication going-another thing VITAL if not life saving to patient care. With a power structure that makes sure that a hierarchy of ADMINISTRATION, DOCS, NURSES, OTHER STAFF, and finally PATIENTS – are ‘cared for’ in that precise order, it is no wonder things like these poor nurses experienced happen. The experience shook what little faith I had – and I was willing to go in with an open my mind, but the issues I have heard about for over a decade seem to continue to be ignored by St. Joes – the cost being the lives of patients.