Georgia nurse who quit over COVID-19 has second thoughts
Melissa Thomas Scott told Tamron Hall on IG Live that she “reacted out of stress” and that she regretted her decision to quit Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital
A Georgia nurse who quit her job after she was assigned to work a floor with COVID-19 patients says she regrets quitting.
Melissa Thomas Scott posted a video last week after she quit her job with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, GA – one of the hardest-hit facilities in the state in dealing with coronavirus cases.
“I quit! I care about the patients and all but my kids and my life, they matter, they come first,” Scott said in the viral video. “My manager sent me to the floor that’s being tested for corona. She knows my health history. She knows all of this.”
READ MORE: Georgia nurse quits over COVID-19: ‘My family and my life, they matter’
Scott, a mother of four, is a breast cancer survivor. She thought the risk too great to take for herself and her children.
Now, Scott is reconsidering. She told Tamron Hall on IG Live Wednesday that she “reacted out of stress” and that she regretted her decision.
“I regret how I handled it if I would have remained calm and just thought it through I wouldn’t be here right now,” Scott told Hall.
“I worked hard for my nursing degree, of course I don’t want to just give up nursing and I love where I work,” Scott added. “I doubt that they are going to let me come back and I do regret how I handled it. You’re not thinking clearly when you’re upset.”
READ MORE: Georgia governor didn’t know asymptomatic people could spread COVID-19
Scott said also weighing heavily on her decision was the fact that her husband works out of state, which would have left her to return home daily to her children after she worked on COVID-19 patients.
“My kids don’t have anybody to go to while they’re here. I can’t send my kids away like everybody else,” she said.
In the viral video, Scott also revealed that she still goes to oncologist appointments every three months and was told not to work on floors with coronavirus patients.
Now she’s urging health care workers who also might be frustrated and ready to throw in the towel to do things the right way.
“Show compassion in situations, act like you care about your colleagues and we can get through this together,” Scott said. “There is a way to handle things.”
Watch the appearance below.
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