Erin Marie Olszewski, RN: How New York Hospitals are Inflating COVID Numbers

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people watch you can hear the pimp
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actions against the scene has really got
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crazy out here right now
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[Music]
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[Music]
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almost from the onset of the corona
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virus epidemic in the United States New
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York has been described as the epicenter
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of the outbreak an Elmhurst Hospital in
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Queens the epicenter of the epicenter
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obviously Elmhurst Hospital in Queens is
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right now the epicenter within the
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hospital is the epicenter of the
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epicenter Elmhurst Hospital is really at
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the center of this crisis here in the
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city and in the country with doctors
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desperately trying to keep up with the
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growing number of patients as supplies
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dwindle and you see the black body bags
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you say what’s in there its Elmer’s
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Hospital must be supplies it’s not
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supplies it’s people also from the
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beginning of the crisis ventilators were
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described as essential life-saving
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equipment initially in short supply
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you picked the twenty six thousand
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people who were going to die because you
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only sent four hundred ventilators I
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knew that every person who needed a
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ventilator and didn’t get one would die
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but why does New York and Elmhurst in
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particular appear to have been hit so
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much harder than other places in the
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United States and where ventilators ever
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the right approach to treating kovat 19
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especially once we realized that 60 to
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90 percent of those vented do not
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survive the experience and observations
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of nurse Aaron Olszewski seemed to offer
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some answers to these pressing questions
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while simultaneously providing frontline
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information about a number of other
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hot-button topics including the
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disproportionate number of Cova deaths
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among Americans of color the distortions
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surrounding do not resuscitate orders
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the disregard for personal protective
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equipment standards and the clustering
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of kovat positive with kovat negative
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patients which she witnessed again and
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again and the tremendous amount of
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nosocomial or hospital-acquired
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infections that resulted perhaps most
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urgently evolved she speaks of the
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therapies and protocols employed in her
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home state that did work Erin was
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brought from Florida by a service funded
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by the Federal Emergency Management
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Agency she spent almost a month at
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Elmhurst what she saw there compelled
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her to become a reporter and
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whistleblower alongside her already
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extensive nursing duties she made
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recordings posted warnings on social
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media and spoke through proxies about
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the nightmare conditions she witnessed
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Aaron was raised in Wisconsin and
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enlisted in the army when she was 17
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just before 9/11 she deployed in support
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of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 part
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of her duties involved overseeing aid
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disbursement and improvements to
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hospital facilities while in country she
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received the Army Commendation Medal for
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meritorious service and was wounded in
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combat Erin eventually retired as a
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sergeant and became a civilian nurse in
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2012 a mutual friend who was helping her
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make hidden camera recordings introduced
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us to Erin after working a long shift at
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the hospital she agreed to do an
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impromptu interview in her room at the
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Marriott Marquis overlooking Times
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Square we encouraged the viewer to leave
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aside their preconceptions about the
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nature of what is happening to hear
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first-hand from an eyewitness who had
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great personal expense and without
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political prejudice of any kind now
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openly reports what she discovered in
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the hopes that the information will be
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put to good use to save lives she began
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by telling us one of her most disturbing
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findings the people who had repeatedly
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tested negative for kovat were being
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described as kovat confirmed okay so if
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you look close I mean my patient shirt I
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am pulling up like they’re laboratory
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results so if you look here you’ll see
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Cova 19 bio reference lab here are the
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test results as you can see v 1 2020 at
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17 16 not detected they test for a
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second time v for 2020 at 1759 not
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detected so both of those are negative
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scroll up to the top this is my patient
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they’re on a vent and they are being
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called Koba 19 confirmed droplet in
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contact on eye protection oh this person
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a droplet Kovac confirmed positive a
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click not detected no result in their
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book pretty good well Aaron was using
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her hidden camera to document another
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chart showing a patient with negative
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test results who nonetheless was labeled
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Kovac confirmed another travel nurse
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entered the room they began to discuss
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what Aaron was seeing yes come here
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so not detected here for their
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presumptive now they’re all that they
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are detected they’re saying it’s
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positive not detected but it’s naughty
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to say so you said that they were vented
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immediately upon being brought in is
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that yeah so the thing is is they’re
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coming in with difficulty breathing and
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a lot of these patients are really
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coming in with anxiety because everybody
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is they’re scared and when I was back
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home I was working in the IDI out in the
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tents and most people that were coming
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through were coming through with like
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symptoms of just you know anxiety or you
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know they’re worried and they’re reading
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to us then they get all nervous they so
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this is how the people are like coming
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in now I’m not saying that some
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you know don’t have code like there
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there is there are people that come in
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and they really do need help not to the
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extent of event but they can’t help but
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these other people like this person who
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wasn’t coded multiple times you know and
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a lot of them are on either medic
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Medicaid or Medicare they’re poor
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they’re from you know a lower class and
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we’re at a public hospital they need the
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funding so take them they take them and
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they tell on pretty much that if they
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don’t get on event then they’re probably
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not gonna survive but the reality is if
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they get on that vent the likelihood of
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them walking out the hospital is slim to
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none and can I ask you what like peep
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are they on and is that being mandated
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or specified what the pressure is on the
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vent here’s the thing with this so you
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don’t have actual doctors that know
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critical care ICU doctors on these
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floors there’s a dentist and there are
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residents with these so residents are
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essentially students and they have no
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idea what they’re doing like I had a
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police actually today I had two police a
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resident because he wrote an order for
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me to run versed which is a medicine
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that you have to be very careful with
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because it can kill someone at like
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quadruple the speed of what you should
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be running to add the dose and had I not
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known that then I would have easily
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killed the page
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and it would have been okay under their
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kovat standards so everything is kind of
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a wash nobody’s held accountable for
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anything and these people that are
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events are essentially being like
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they’re these residents are like
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practicing their skills on them so
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they’re practicing central lines they’re
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practicing like invasive procedures that
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are really unnecessary what is the
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percentage of black Latino white what’s
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the racial composition Hispanic and
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black for the majority and what’s the
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age range and Asian and what’s the age
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range 20 year olds all the way up to 70
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80 year olds very few out I should say
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very few 80 year olds but the majority
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of people I would say are in their 40s
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or 50s Wow and what percentage of the
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people that are in there deep would you
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say actually have tested positive for
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kovat half probably have but everyone is
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being treated as though the entire
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hospitals caught it so half the
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hospitals not covered but they were in
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coughing floors so let me just ask you
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about nose acromial infection so you’re
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saying they’re putting non kovat or Cova
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drool out with definite kovat patients
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yes so I was only wondering cuz like I
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was looking at like all the patient
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rooms and like this patient is in with
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like a non co-ed I don’t I don’t
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understand why they’re doing that I know
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there’s more patients in a row here
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you’re on Kevin and this is supposed to
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be the covered yeah seventh floor they
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shut it down sir and I’m confused
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Kovac there yeah this is gonna be the
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only Kovac so they shouldn’t put any
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well doesn’t it been doing their banking
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on the fact that they’ll get it cuz
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they’re ready and you know compromise so
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they’re just there and they’ll put them
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in the same room so there’s double room
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so you have a cove it with anon Cove it
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they don’t even care we have enough
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rooms where they can be separated now
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because it’s not as busy as it was you
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know four weeks ago but they don’t care
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they’re just putting them together I
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have that right now happening like the
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guy over and yeah and there’s and a
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positive like a guy over in 29 I had him
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upstairs doesn’t CC you before yeah and
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he came in with a with a stroke and no
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part of it and now he’s got coded an
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event she literally came in with him
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through and then she left like five
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minutes later my patient had died of
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copán and she didn’t lock the floor she
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was cleaning getting prepared for my
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next patient and she did people don’t
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know how to properly wear their PPE good
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let’s go back to Ebola like when a bola
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was here people take that very seriously
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you have you have a nurse in the room
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and all the head-to-toe PPE this is okay
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bola this is this is I’m gonna compare
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it and you have another nurse that’s
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outside the room handing supplies you
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know the the clean nurse and the dirty
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nurse right going and when they’re
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taking their their outfit off the you
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know one nurse is unzipping the back so
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she can take it out walking out they’re
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not doing that
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here we’re wearing like our scrubs and
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then we have maybe like a net top our
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pants are exposed they’re wearing
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booties over their shoes but the booties
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are going room to room to room and then
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people will wear them to the hospital
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so there’s massive spread just the the
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improper use of the PPE I mean that’s
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it’s a no-brainer everyone it looks good
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it looks good looks like you’re super
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safe but in reality it’s ridiculous
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you’re gonna go to yo go room to room
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you maybe take that top up and a new top
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on right the rest of you are still
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exposed but I mean why are they doing
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this you know principal hospitals that
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mean it like it no Zuko be all like we
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have in the United States and we have
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had it for a while a rapid test it’s 45
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minutes do you have Kovac don’t you
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they’re not they’re not doing the right
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potassium they’re not know the okay I
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almost you’ve never known know if they
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don’t do it it’s too expensive they do
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Friday it’s like five to seven day
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turnaround in the meantime they admit
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them onto covered units so non kovetz
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the rule-outs
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are going to covet units and waiting for
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the results even though we have a rapid
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result which is 45 minutes and they’re
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not doing it no not one but would you
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say it’s too expensive I mean isn’t this
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all getting charged to the fund anyway I
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mean why not do it why not
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are you saying I don’t know why it
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doesn’t make any sense to me
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I asked that doctor about it how come
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you guys don’t do the rapid tests here
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as siblings I mean it exists it’s just
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they don’t have access to it is only to
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supply so if you deep pockets you get
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first Oh so money most times it’s money
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about everything yes that’s sad it’s a
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reality I compare this hospital to a
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third-world country I’ve been in the
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third-world country hospital in Iraq the
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Iraq hospital is better than this one
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and that says a lot I’ve been there I’ve
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had I’ve been in both hospitals and
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we’re this is in the United States and
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those hospitals treating low-income
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mostly people and it almost makes me
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feel like they think these people are
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disposable and they’re not they’re
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they’re they’re people you know
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everybody people are not disposable you
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know especially especially these the
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ones that are struggling day in and day
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out or the hard workers you know like
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trying to reach that American Dream and
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they’re not given a chance because
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they’re brought to this place where
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nobody cares and is there a understood
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financial incentive to diagnose kovat
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yeah of course so in the hospital that
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men right now it’s all Kovac at this
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point every single floor is coated and
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they need it that way obviously for a
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reason
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in my opinion but the person cannot come
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to the floor unless they have a cold
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diagnosis it was the reason did they not
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want to cross-contaminate is that would
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that be the legitimate reason why you
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would create an all covered floor um
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here’s why I will say no to that is
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because they’re admitting people for
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quote coded rule out so this guy was
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probably admitted Cova drool out tested
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him they saw that it came back negative
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they probably already did something
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where they needed to now call him Colvin
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in the hopes that if they’re putting him
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on a Kovac floor and there’s nurses
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going room to room to room he will get
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it and then they’ll be you know they’ll
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be back to when he does pass that he did
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have Kovac now I mean that’s that’s
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court they know that’s quite a charge I
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mean what makes you think they really
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want them to to get Kovac
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because money money it’s I think it’s at
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least twenty nine thousand dollars per
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per patient and then you have to think
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you’re also charging supplies and more
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supplies more supplies that’s just like
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a bonus money but what do the but the
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residents aren’t getting that right I
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mean why
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well that’s the thing and I actually had
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a I’ve went at it with a lot of
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residents already and they’re there
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order followers so there was resident
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and I have this on tape a video I taped
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it because it was just so disgusting to
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me a 37 year old which is my age
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was not a DNR is a full code his family
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in depth discuss with the doctors that
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they want us to do it and they can to
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save him he came in talking you’re very
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terrified he was just like you know
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totally alert I knew it was going on and
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they convinced him to be an event now
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he’s dead but the doctor said when I
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turn into shift that if he codes that we
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are not to resuscitate or try to save
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him and we flipped either could it be on
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our order and they said no that’s up to
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the attending okay so we’re gonna for
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now that’s what I said a nice and or not
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I guess we are obligated to so that I
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have you got to say something to like
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it’s our license unfortunately you guys
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gotta put in an order just so that’s
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what I can’t but I’m obligated in where
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the cheese that he’s like the higher-ups
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said I said I don’t care what they said
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good higher up bad we don’t have a God
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here and making isolation I don’t care
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what they decide so we’re supposed to
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he’s mad DNR but richer yeah as you know
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to this family no family
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the thing they called them and then told
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them there are 10 whole days spent like
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in the eighties saturated it was that
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this one on the forehead I wanna change
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that I go to it’s 90 yeah so they
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started playing alone with 18 pulse-ox
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his head his finger yeah so what was
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that so that was we were just getting on
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shift because we were starting the night
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shift at 7:00 and that was the nurse
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from the day shifting pretty much we
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shouldn’t coat him if he’s going to the
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code and then I turned my glasses on why
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are we being told not to
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Dakota
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I mean cuz I’m gonna tell you right now
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if he finds out I’m jumping on his chest
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period point-blank it’s gonna happen
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because until that status has changed in
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the computer that’s what I am obligated
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to do under right you know you guys
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aren’t gonna back me up and protect me
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well Elmer’s does have a policy and
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given I’ve got a coded policy getting
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there
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scarcity of right dialysis it’s not
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there’s not a it’s a difference
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normally the Sanders whatever the family
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that says like we just do exactly will
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say coding for five years like we just
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do that right it’s a little bit
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different now because of the new policy
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in place a little bit in place which is
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that you don’t need it full family can
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sit like you can just tell someone but
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it’s medically futile of it we’re not
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willing to this poor blood and resources
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into some of it isn’t
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would you possibly get back but I look
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it’s bruised 37 I mean he’s right well
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our higher-ups have agreed and our
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attendings agree that this is futile
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care at this point here so I guess I
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said he doesn’t have enough eager
21:28
throwing he doesn’t have anything to
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sustain going and I said and who decided
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this and I say can you put a comfort
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care order and I know we can’t do that
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can you put a DNR order and no we can’t
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do that I said so what’s our plan do not
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modify those well he’s dying and I’m
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like I understand that but there needs
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to be an order indicating that either
21:47
I’m doing compressions or I’m not doing
21:48
compressions well I can say that we
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cannot be in agreements that we will do
21:52
it I will definitely
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cuz I’m gonna jump on ya so why I’ll go
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over it with you I don’t care that’s
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what we that’s what we’re here for I’m
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not playin like I totally change his
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status that he is a DNR and they can do
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a true position consent if they’ve
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talked to the family yeah but until they
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change it and I see it he’s a full coat
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we know when someone is close we’ll pull
22:13
the code card up and be ready
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you know we’re ready I had the EPI ready
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this is one of the first things we do
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and she wouldn’t let me give it so this
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was that woman and the entire time and
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this was over his over his body his
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alive body and were arguing and she’s
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laughing
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she was smirking and how that how this
22:38
this man died was the nurses arguing
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with the doctors over him as he was
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dying and she’s smirking the entire time
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I was a so it was probably one of the
22:53
worst experiences in my entire life
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but all I can think about is that at
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least he knows that we were fighting for
23:01
him when he died
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No
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but this was my conversation after after
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what happened and the guy I told you
23:19
about earlier that had pulled his tube
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oh he was up at that point like he was
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on the same floor he had pulled his he
23:28
was the one that they wanted to sedate
23:31
so at that point he was doing better
23:35
where he could walk this doctor and put
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a diaper on him and told him to poop in
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his pants so after the code I wouldn’t
23:44
go check on him and he’s poop he has he
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goes I have poop in my pants I’m like
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why do you poop in your pants and he
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said that because the doctor told him
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that he has to do that and I’ve just
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lost it it was her this is wrong it is
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straight up just it is wrong and I have
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been I am 37 years old I have been in a
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hospital since I’ve been 16 military
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hospitals that was I agree that there
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were parts of it that were wrong to
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calling it a patient a DNR when there’s
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no order for it and telling us like
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straight up telling us you’re not doing
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anything that’s wrong if that was my
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brother or my father or anybody I would
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be furious and I guarantee you if I
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called his family right now and told him
24:35
what what happened they would be furious
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too
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you
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you