New London — Lawrence + Memorial Hospital has been cited for alleged violations of federal workplace health standards in the May 19 death of Elva Graveline, a nurse’s aide who died of COVID-19 complications.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued three citations and proposed $15,422 in fines in connection with L+M’s alleged failure to comply with rules pertaining to respiratory protections for employees and recordkeeping.

An allegation deemed “serious” and carrying a $13,494 fine involves a requirement that employers establish and implement a written respiratory protection program in any workplace where employees wear respirators. “The program shall be updated as necessary to reflect those changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use,” the OSHA standard says.

L+M also was cited in connection with an OSHA requirement that employers ensure that an employee using “a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter.”

The alleged violation regarding records of fatalities, injuries and illnesses carries a $1,928 fine.

"The OSHA report contains important insights but we take issue with some, including the citation for lacking a specific COVID-19 policy regarding respiratory protection," Fiona Phelan, L+M's media relations manager, said in a statement. "Given the unprecedented nature of the virus, we are unaware of any hospitals that carried such protocols at the onset of this pandemic. Additionally, the OSHA report does not indicate any lack of appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) for our staff throughout the pandemic. Our top priority is to protect our patients and staff and as such, our protocols have always followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as that of the experts within our Health System."

Investigators from OSHA’s Hartford office began looking into Graveline’s death on May 26, a week after it occurred, according to an online database. L+M reported the incident, as is required when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye.

Graveline, a 52-year-old certified nurse’s assistant, had been caring for as many as 10 COVID-19 patients per shift at the time of her death, according to her union, AFT Connecticut, Local 5123. Graveline tested positive for the coronavirus disease in April and died in L+M’s critical care unit. On May 30, about 200 people rallied in New London in her honor and to raise awareness of the need for greater protections for health care workers.

AFT Connecticut’s vice president, John Brady, said AFT’s national union last month joined a coalition of labor organizations suing OSHA over what the coalition believes is the agency’s failure to keep hospitals and health facilities safe.

“We’re gratified to see that producing tangible results,” Brady said of the suit.

He said OSHA has taken “an important step” toward holding L+M management and Yale New Haven Health executives accountable. L+M and Westerly Hospital are part of the Yale New Haven Health System.

“The conditions that allowed Elva to become infected by and succumb to COVID-19 should have never been allowed in any work setting,” Brady said. “With cases spiking in the region and across the state, now is the time for Yale to own up to their mistakes. That takes more than simply paying their fines and accepting the terms of their citations. It also takes listening to our members, who first sounded the bed alarms about safety lapses at L+M back in April.”

As of Nov. 5, OSHA had issued 203 citations arising from inspections for violations relating to the coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $2,851,533. In October, New London Sub-Acute and Nursing, a Waterford nursing home, was issued a citation and a proposed fine of $1,475 for allegedly violating OSHA recordkeeping rules.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com