Connecticut hospital faces $13,500 in federal fines over allegations it provided inadequate protection to workers

Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield faces federal fines of nearly $13,500 over allegations it did not give workers appropriate face masks and failed to log several COVID-19 cases.

Following inspections between May and September, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the hospital had not developed and put in place a written respiratory protection program to address the use of N95 masks. The agency characterized the alleged violation as serious.

Ajay Kumar, chief clinical officer at Hartford HealthCare, told reporters Thursday at a briefing that he is “very disappointed” at the OSHA citations and that Hartford HealthCare has appealed the fines.

Hartford HealthCare follows guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and “OSHA has different expectations” for personal protection equipment, he said.

“Essentially, the citations which were placed on us we did not agree entirely and we appealed at this time and we look forward to further discussions with OSHA colleagues at this time to resolve this matter,” Kumar said.

OSHA said the selection of “appropriate respirators” was not based on the respiratory hazards to which workers were exposed and other factors affecting the reliability of respirators. The agency said Natchaug staff members participated in nose swab procedures that are highly hazardous, exposing them to the coronavirus.

In addition, employees whoprovided direct care to adults and children who were not wearing masks on two occasions in April and May were not provided adequate “respiratory protection” that OSHA identified as the N95 mask.

In “other than serious violations,” Natchaug Hospital was cited for not recording each work-related fatality, injury or illness. Specifically, the hospital was accused of failing to record eight incidents in March of respiratory illnesses that were confirmed as related to COVID-19.