Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Some local nurses working at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center claim that they are working 24 to 48 hours shifts due to the shortage of nurses at the territory’s only medical facility.

Now nurses are calling out to government leaders to please consider the issue of the nursing shortage and the overworked nurses, and take action immediately.

Speaking to Samoa News, nurses said that there’s a lot going on at the LBJ Hospital at this time of the pandemic and a lot of people including government leaders and the Task Force don’t understand what’s going on.

“There is a lot of things happening at the LBJ Hospital right now such as the sudden resignation of our CEO at the wrong time, and especially the nurse crisis, but thank God for guiding us and protecting our lives while we’re serving our patients,” one nurse said.

Several local nurses who spoke to Samoa News regarding the current situation at the hospital said that working 12 to 48 hour shifts is not right and it appears to them that management is forcing them into this situation and overlooking the fact that they have children and families that need care.

Several nurses said that no one is speaking up about this problem because they fear that it might cost them their job if they speak up about it.

“We were told by FEMA medical team members that working from 24 hours to 48 hours in the United States is illegal, but our local hospital has allowed this practice to continue for many years now,” another nurse said.

Some nurses said they are doing their research on how to communicate with the US Labor Department to file a complaint because they have worked over time for many years including during this pandemic but they’re still not receiving any overtime or hazard pay.

They said they work in a hazardous environment and they risk their lives everyday to care for the COVID patients. They work overtime because there is not enough staffing and also they feel bad for their coworkers who have already worked 24 and 48 hours.

“We are the ones who do all the hard work, not the doctors,” said one nurse.

“It is nurses working and caring for COVID-19 patients and we also work long hours and even have to be quarantined from our own families if we test positive from work and caring for COVID-19 patients,” another nurse said.

When asked if they fear that they might contract the virus at work and infect their children and family, one nurse said, “We work hard without fear because we have faith in God that He will protect us and our family too.”

One nurse explained that she cares for the positives patients as if they are her own family. She said she also takes extra precautions because she doesn’t want to get sick and take home the virus, making her family sick too.

“We always have to do our PPEs, donning and duffing. Hand wash and reducing over exposure and taking safety measures while maintaining patient safety.”

Another nurse shared that working with patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 is a huge challenge everyday especially when someone dies while under their care.

“Losing someone who is dear to you from this pandemic is a tragedy and we feel that same feeling about the COVID patients who we treat as our own family members,” another nurse said.

Despite the challenge, local nurses shared the good news that there are new nurses arriving on island to help them with the task. They stated that the ongoing challenge for LBJ hospital is the shortage of nurses.

BACKGROUND

Two weeks ago, faipule supported the idea that there should be more funds allocated to fund and support the nursing program at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC).

A former Director of Nursing at LBJ Hospital believes the nursing shortage can be resolved if more funding is funneled into the nursing program at the college to hire enough qualified teachers.

Toaga Seumalo, who is the CMS Coordinator for the hospital, testified at a hearing of the House Health Committee that they have come to the Fono many times in the past to discuss the shortage of nurses.

She said the American Samoa Community College does not have enough teachers for the program and relies on nurses from the hospital to conduct the classes.

She advised that the Fono can help resolve the lack of local nurses if it allocates an adequate budget to the college to support the nursing program.

But as it is now, the program isn’t adequately staffed and nurses from LBJ are helping teach classes on top of their work schedules.

Mrs. Seumalo says the low salaries are what’s keeping good teachers away from the ASCC nursing program.

She told lawmakers if the government allocated more funding for the nursing program it would have enough qualified teachers to educate and train local nurses.

Samoa News points out that students of the ASCC Nursing Program can take the certified test to become a US Registered Nurse, after completing their course work via the internet, if they wish.