KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
Employees at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital say CEO isn’t taking pandemic seriously enough as conflicting reports arise about death of a patient there »
TRENTON » The top official at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital is not practicing the social distancing that Gov. Phil Murphy preaches at daily news briefings is New Jersey’s singlemost effective weapon in the fight against the novel coronavirus, according to fearful hospital employees.
The employees described at great length the alleged dangerous conduct of CEO Robyn Wramage-Caporoso, who reportedly exploded and abruptly ended a conference call when a union official brought up repeated issues inside the hospital, the employees said.
The employees said administration has failed to ensure conditions at the 450-bed state-run institution, which houses many vulnerable and criminally insane patients, are safe for everyone amid the global pandemic.
While the facility is essential, many non-essential staff have been openly discouraged from working remotely, the employees said. To top it off, they lack protective gear to keep themselves safe and reduce the risk of passing along the virus to loved ones when they go home.
Desperate for help, someone anonymously started a Change.org petition to get the governor and health commissioner Judy Persichilli to address the crisis. The petition had 409 signatures as of Thursday.
At least three patients and three staffers already tested positive for the virus at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, state health officials acknowledged Wednesday.
Unless something more is done to protect workers and patients, employees fear it’s a matter of time before there’s an outbreak inside the hospital.
“She’s really going to spread this,” one employee said. “It’s already gotten bad with the way she’s handled things. We really do need somebody to help us. We need somebody to intervene.”
Another added: “We’re not practicing social distancing. Not because we don’t want to. Because of administration.”
The employees spoke on condition of anonymity because they’ve been threatened with termination for speaking publicly about the hazardous conditions inside the facility.
The most damning allegation was that WramageCaporoso has blatantly disregarded social distancing mandates.
That would be viewed as a big no-no to Murphy given how much he’s implored the public to keep at least six feet of space between each other when it must interact.
Employees said the hospital CEO held meetings where as many as 30 staffers were forced to sit a couple of feet apart from each other. At that close of range, there was alarm among the staff that patients and staff will continue to get infected with how easily the virus is transmitted.
Further, the hospital CEO allegedly did not give people personal space, let alone PPE, hovering over their shoulders like an apparent micro-manger, the employees said.
Wramage-Caporoso allegedly instructed staff they needed to have two weeks of clothes in their vehicles in case they get exposed and quarantined at the facility, the employees said.
When people attempted to call her out on it, the CEO wasn’t too receptive.
“She said, ‘her deputies have her back and they’re loyal to her,’” the employee said, interpreting the remark as intimidating. “What does that mean? ... The doctors are besides themselves. They know this is out of hand. She is incompetent.”
Wramage-Caporoso did not respond to a message left with her seeking comment on the workers’ allegations against her.
And a Department of Health spokeswoman did not address The Trentonian’s detailed list of questions outlining the employees’ claims about the horrid conditions inside the hospital.
Instead, spokeswoman Donna Leusner provided only a bullet-point list of safety measures she said are being employed at the staterun hospitals, where visitations have been banned since March 12.
Ron McMullen, president of AFSCME New Jersey Council 63, which represents direct care staff at the hospital, said union leaders were assured the DOH would meet employee demands.
McMullen works at Ann Klein Forensic Center and said employees are being
laser thermometer before shifts.
“Our position is that whatever standards you provide at one facility, you need to provide that for all the institutions that you govern,” he said.
McMullen said he wasn’t on the conference call when the Trenton Psych CEO went ballistic. But another union official, Bob Little, was on that call.
“Bob is extremely stern. ... If that CEO wasn’t able to withstand Bob’s passion, it may have ended abruptly,” McMullen said.
McMullen said he couldn’t speak specifically about Wramage-Caporoso’s competency. But he felt administration needs to be more compassionate to employees amid the outbreak.
“This is not a snowstorm. This is a pandemic. You’re dealing with people’s lives and livelihoods. It’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear because people don’t want to take this stuff home.”
The DOH spokeswoman said steps have already been taken to make employees feel safer.
She said PPE was being provided to those who worked on units impacted by COVID-19. Surgical mask were distributed to all staff Thursday.
The facilities increased cleaning and sanitizing frequency, advised employees on hygiene and “cough etiquette,” provided educational materials, increased monitoring of at-risk patients and restricted offgrounds visits, Leusner said.
They’re screening those who have “necessary business at the hospital.” Staff who are sick are “encouraged” to stay home and sent home if they become sick at work, the department spokeswoman added.
Meetings are held by teleconference, and telehealth is “being piloted in order to maintain care and social distancing,” according to Leusner. Employees are also being rotated off site to minimize exposure.
There are still some uneasy employees.
“We’re all gonna get infected with the way [Wramage-Caporoso] runs the hospital,” the worker said. “We’re terrorized by her. She sits like right over them while they’re working.”