Insane Atascadero State Hospital patients still handling dirty laundry for $7.25 per hour!

DSHABUSE has learned that insane patients at Atascadero State Hospital are still being allowed to handle dirty laundry, and are being paid $7.25 an hour to do so, and this practice is forbidden at Patton State Hospital pursuant to Administrative Directive 7.02 in nursing procedure 900. As we have identified on our dshabuse.org website, Stephanie Clendenin, Director of State Hospitals, fails to have consistent policies across State Hospitals. Even more alarming, DSHABUSE uncovered Department of State Hospital guidelines dated July 22, 2020, page 1, section 4, subsection c, which reads as follows: “While bodily fluids other than respiratory secretions have not been clearly implicated in the transmission of COVID-19, unprotected contact with other bodily fluids such as blood, stool, vomit, semen, and urine might put health care providers at risk of COVID-19.”

Although the insane patients at Atascadero State Hospital who are handling dirty laundry for $7.25 an hour have told DSHABUSE they are now wearing gloves and masks, they are performing this activity unsupervised, and even if they were supervised, the activity is so dangerous because of the threat of COVID-19 and the fact that even though they are wearing gloves they could touch their faces, or other parts of their body could come in contact with infected clothing or human fluids on the clothing they are handling. DSHABUSE has made notifications this morning to Disability Rights California, and the Office of Patient Rights, as well as the entire California Legislature by way of a phone blast message.

To listen to the message that is sent to 118 State Senate/Legislature, click this link: https://www.phonevite.com/share/?e=eyJ2IjoxLCJpZCI6MTUyOTA0MCwiaWF0IjoxNTk5NTc2MjMzLCJzIjoiYjAyNjM1NzM1YWNkZGFhMzVlNWY4YjJjMzMyMzY1MWUifQ