Doctor at UMC says he was told to not wear protective mask in public

Wednesday, April 1st 2020

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — An anesthesiologist at University Medical Center said the hospital told him to stop wearing his protective mask in public areas because he was scaring people.

But UMC officials said the doctor was disciplined for being insubordinate by the company that he contracts with - a company called Somnia Anesthesia.

Dr. Henryk Nikicicz has been working at UMC since 2014. But two weeks ago, he said his job was on the line simply because he was wearing a protective mask outside of the operating room.

“At 6:30 a.m. on March 18, I was intubating a patient in the ICU for respiratory failure. The intubation went fine,” said Nikicicz. “I completed the intubation and I was walking down the hallway back to the OR in order to sign out my shift. I noticed I the hallway there was a group of people and I put my facemask on.”

In that group of people, Nikicicz said he spotted UMC's CEO Jacob Cintron. Later that day, Nikicicz got a text from his boss.

“I got a text message from the chief of anesthesia asking me why am I wearing a mask and that Mr. Cintron is complaining about that,” Nikicicz said. “I explained that I am wearing a mask to protect myself since I have preexisting conditions. I am susceptible to infections. That I wear the mask to protect people around me.”

Then Nikicicz said he was taken off the schedule for the month of April.

“The schedule came out for April and I was not on the schedule,” he said. “And I ask why am I not on the schedule and the answer was that I was suspended and they’re waiting to see if I would be fired, I guess.”

A spokesman for UMC said that's not true. The hospital says Nikicicz was not fired but just disciplined for insubordination.

A statement from Ryan Mielke reads in part: "The anesthesiologist was told on numerous occasions by his supervisor to not wear the N95 surgical mask while not in the operating room area or while not treating patients with infectious disease. He was wearing the N95 in common areas, general hallways, etc. UMC is not unlike other hospitals in its efforts to conserve N95 surgical masks, especially when it comes to wearing them when not in the surgical/OR area and not treating patients."

Henryk said he disagreed with that policy and had a right to wear the protective equipment.

“I really want them to understand that they are making a big mistake by not allowing people to protect themselves. It’s almost criminal. Today, with this COVID infection, you have to protect yourself and others,” he said.

After national news outlets learned of this story, Nikicicz said he was quickly returned to the April rotation at the hospital and that he will be now allowed to wear his protective mask while at work.

As for UMC – Mielke said: “At the time of these incidents, the CDC did not require masks to be used by hospital staff when not treating patients.”

https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/doctor-at-umc-says-he-was-told-to-not-wear-protective-mask-in-public