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Undercover Epicenter Nurse: How Fraud, Negligence, and Greed Led to Unnecessary Deaths at Elmhurst Hospital
Undercover Epicenter Nurse blows the lid off the COVID-19 pandemic.
What would you do if you discovered that the media and the government were lying to us all? And that hundreds, maybe thousands of people were dying because of it?
Army combat veteran and registered nurse Erin Olszewski’s most deeply held values were put to the test when she arrived as a travel nurse at Elmhurst Hospital in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. After serving in Iraq, she was back on the front lines—and this time, she found, the situation was even worse.
Rooms were filthy, nurses were lax with sanitation measures, and hospital-acquired cases of COVID-19 were spreading like wildfire.
Worse, people who had tested negative multiple times for COVID-19 were being labeled as COVID-confirmed and put on COVID-only floors. Put on ventilators and drugged up with sedatives, these patients quickly deteriorated—even though they did not have coronavirus when they checked in.
Doctors-in-training were refusing to perform CPR—and banning nurses from doing it—on dying patients whose families had not consented to “Do Not Resuscitate” orders.
Erin wasn’t about to stand by and let her patients keep dying on her watch, but she knew that if she told the truth, people wouldn’t believe her. It was just too shocking. Willing to go to battle for her patients, Erin made the decision to go deep undercover, recording conversations with other nurses, videos of malpractice, and more. She began to share what she found on social media. Unsurprisingly, she was fired for it.
Now, Erin is standing up to tell the whole horrifying story of what happened inside Elmhurst Hospital to demand justice for those who fell victim to the hospital’s greed. Not only must the staff be held accountable for their unethical actions; but also, this kind of corruption must be destroyed so that future Americans are not put at risks. The deaths have to end, and Erin won’t rest until the bad actors are exposed.
Undercover Epicenter How Fraud, Negligence, and Greed Led to Unnecessary Deaths at Elmhurst Hospital is a shocking and infuriating inside exposé of the American healthcare system gone wrong. At the same time, it’s the story of a woman who traveled from the small-town streets of Wisconsin, to the battlefields of Iraq, to the mean streets of Queens, on a quest to help fight for her country. With this book, the real battle has begun.
What would you do if you discovered that the media and the government were lying to us all? And that hundreds, maybe thousands of people were dying because of it?
Army combat veteran and registered nurse Erin Olszewski’s most deeply held values were put to the test when she arrived as a travel nurse at Elmhurst Hospital in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. After serving in Iraq, she was back on the front lines—and this time, she found, the situation was even worse.
Rooms were filthy, nurses were lax with sanitation measures, and hospital-acquired cases of COVID-19 were spreading like wildfire.
Worse, people who had tested negative multiple times for COVID-19 were being labeled as COVID-confirmed and put on COVID-only floors. Put on ventilators and drugged up with sedatives, these patients quickly deteriorated—even though they did not have coronavirus when they checked in.
Doctors-in-training were refusing to perform CPR—and banning nurses from doing it—on dying patients whose families had not consented to “Do Not Resuscitate” orders.
Erin wasn’t about to stand by and let her patients keep dying on her watch, but she knew that if she told the truth, people wouldn’t believe her. It was just too shocking. Willing to go to battle for her patients, Erin made the decision to go deep undercover, recording conversations with other nurses, videos of malpractice, and more. She began to share what she found on social media. Unsurprisingly, she was fired for it.
Now, Erin is standing up to tell the whole horrifying story of what happened inside Elmhurst Hospital to demand justice for those who fell victim to the hospital’s greed. Not only must the staff be held accountable for their unethical actions; but also, this kind of corruption must be destroyed so that future Americans are not put at risks. The deaths have to end, and Erin won’t rest until the bad actors are exposed.
Undercover Epicenter How Fraud, Negligence, and Greed Led to Unnecessary Deaths at Elmhurst Hospital is a shocking and infuriating inside exposé of the American healthcare system gone wrong. At the same time, it’s the story of a woman who traveled from the small-town streets of Wisconsin, to the battlefields of Iraq, to the mean streets of Queens, on a quest to help fight for her country. With this book, the real battle has begun.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2020
97 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 10, 2021
Why I'm qualified to make these statements: Graduate of Bellevue School of Nursing (NYCH&H); Professor of nursing since 1980: expert witness on standard of nursing care. Masters in Nursing, Doctorate in Public Health.
The book:
50 page preface by JB Handley, an anti-vaccine friend of Erin's. Not an expert on health care or COVID, filled with "FACTS' that have been thoroughly debunked by David Gorski, MD, PhD at https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/j-b-... followed by Chapter 1 about her unhappy childhood.
Chapter 2 is about her unhappy time in the military, where the government lied. As a veteran of the Vietnam Era, I found the way Erin described being treated as an enlisted person very believable. I can't speak to her experiences in Iraq.
Chapter 3 is all about how Erin became anti-vaccine “I'm not an anti-vaxxer, I'm an ex-vaxxer." touting her AV activism (probably why Skyhorse published the book without editing). Presents her "everything is about profits" theme that informs her NYC 'expose.'
Chapter 4 finally brings us to NYC, halfway through the book. Erin went with an agenda, bragging about bringing spyglasses. Clearly does not understand nursing education, medical education, COVID-19, NYC, chain of command, or HIPAA.
Examples: states the typical way to become a nurse is CNA->LPN->ADN->BSN (p152). It's not; there are masters entry programs in nursing. "Most good nurses start out as CNAs," (p151) "That's where it all begins for most nurses" (p152) - neither is true - and then counts her CNA experience as nursing, which it's not. Erin states she has 18 years experience in nursing, when she became a Practical Nurse in 2014 and a Registered Nurse in 2017.
On medical education: "Most interns and residents have never even been at a patient's bedside before, never set foot into a patient's room-not to mention, they've never done so during a pandemic." Interns and residents have, indeed, worked with patients. Medical students start clinical rotations in their 3rd or 4th year, though many programs are starting in the first year. Erin never set foot into a patient's room during a pandemic before arriving at Elmhurst, either.
On HIPAA: "HIPAA includes a whistleblower provision that protects people like me who need to use examples of patient care to expose wrongdoing." (p244). Those protections are limited to an attorney, healthcare oversight agency or public health authority, and healthcare accreditation organization. Not only do these exceptions not apply to media interviews, courts have punished some whistleblowers for perceived carelessness with HIPAA protected PHI.
On chain of command: I had to question why Erin hasn't complained to an appropriate agency. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals takes complaints seriously, as do the Board of Registered Nursing and the Medical Board. Those would be the appropriate agencies to file complaints, where HIPAA protections for whistleblowers would apply and real action could be taken.
Erin describes advocating for patients by trying to convince treating physicians to use Vitamin C and touts zinc with hydroxychloroquine. She refers to the doctor in Texas - the conspiracy theorist who believes in alien DNA and that women's diseases are caused by sex with demons in dreams.
Some might say she has tapes that prove her accusations. Like many anti-vaccine activists, much is taken out of context and/or misinterpreted. Other people who were involved in those situations have had no opportunity to tell another side. On page 212 Erin has a photo of someone at what looks like a nurses’ station with the caption “Doctor sleeps soundly after her decision not to code the thirty-seven year old patient who died.” Assuming this is a doctor whose patient just died (we haven’t heard the doctor’s side), this is not someone sleeping soundly. It’s someone hunched over a desk, head barely touching the table. Even if this were the patient's doctor and she decided not to code him, why would Erin malign someone after such a trauma?
On page 234 Erin claims a lawsuit by three Alabama nurses against the staffing agency paralleled her experience and quotes parts of the suit to support her own claims. I’ve read the lawsuit. The three nurses claimed they were misled and assigned to areas they were not qualified to work in and unsafe conditions e.g., lack of PPE. They did complain about working conditions, which were, indeed awful. At no time did they accuse colleagues of negligence, malpractice, or murder. They did not volunteer with the intent to spy on and mock their colleagues.
I could write a book debunking most of Erin's premises. Bottom line is this is written by a conspiracy theorist who was getting paid $10,000/week (follow the money, as Erin says) to show the world how incompetent her fellow professionals were and to accuse them, the hospital, and the governor of murder in order to increase her fame. I read this book so I could speak about it knowledgeably. I was biased going in, and tried to read it with an open mind. Nonetheless, I was appalled at the lack of knowledge, ethics, and professionalism. On top of that, she clearly didn't have an editor, which was badly needed.
The book:
50 page preface by JB Handley, an anti-vaccine friend of Erin's. Not an expert on health care or COVID, filled with "FACTS' that have been thoroughly debunked by David Gorski, MD, PhD at https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/j-b-... followed by Chapter 1 about her unhappy childhood.
Chapter 2 is about her unhappy time in the military, where the government lied. As a veteran of the Vietnam Era, I found the way Erin described being treated as an enlisted person very believable. I can't speak to her experiences in Iraq.
Chapter 3 is all about how Erin became anti-vaccine “I'm not an anti-vaxxer, I'm an ex-vaxxer." touting her AV activism (probably why Skyhorse published the book without editing). Presents her "everything is about profits" theme that informs her NYC 'expose.'
Chapter 4 finally brings us to NYC, halfway through the book. Erin went with an agenda, bragging about bringing spyglasses. Clearly does not understand nursing education, medical education, COVID-19, NYC, chain of command, or HIPAA.
Examples: states the typical way to become a nurse is CNA->LPN->ADN->BSN (p152). It's not; there are masters entry programs in nursing. "Most good nurses start out as CNAs," (p151) "That's where it all begins for most nurses" (p152) - neither is true - and then counts her CNA experience as nursing, which it's not. Erin states she has 18 years experience in nursing, when she became a Practical Nurse in 2014 and a Registered Nurse in 2017.
On medical education: "Most interns and residents have never even been at a patient's bedside before, never set foot into a patient's room-not to mention, they've never done so during a pandemic." Interns and residents have, indeed, worked with patients. Medical students start clinical rotations in their 3rd or 4th year, though many programs are starting in the first year. Erin never set foot into a patient's room during a pandemic before arriving at Elmhurst, either.
On HIPAA: "HIPAA includes a whistleblower provision that protects people like me who need to use examples of patient care to expose wrongdoing." (p244). Those protections are limited to an attorney, healthcare oversight agency or public health authority, and healthcare accreditation organization. Not only do these exceptions not apply to media interviews, courts have punished some whistleblowers for perceived carelessness with HIPAA protected PHI.
On chain of command: I had to question why Erin hasn't complained to an appropriate agency. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals takes complaints seriously, as do the Board of Registered Nursing and the Medical Board. Those would be the appropriate agencies to file complaints, where HIPAA protections for whistleblowers would apply and real action could be taken.
Erin describes advocating for patients by trying to convince treating physicians to use Vitamin C and touts zinc with hydroxychloroquine. She refers to the doctor in Texas - the conspiracy theorist who believes in alien DNA and that women's diseases are caused by sex with demons in dreams.
Some might say she has tapes that prove her accusations. Like many anti-vaccine activists, much is taken out of context and/or misinterpreted. Other people who were involved in those situations have had no opportunity to tell another side. On page 212 Erin has a photo of someone at what looks like a nurses’ station with the caption “Doctor sleeps soundly after her decision not to code the thirty-seven year old patient who died.” Assuming this is a doctor whose patient just died (we haven’t heard the doctor’s side), this is not someone sleeping soundly. It’s someone hunched over a desk, head barely touching the table. Even if this were the patient's doctor and she decided not to code him, why would Erin malign someone after such a trauma?
On page 234 Erin claims a lawsuit by three Alabama nurses against the staffing agency paralleled her experience and quotes parts of the suit to support her own claims. I’ve read the lawsuit. The three nurses claimed they were misled and assigned to areas they were not qualified to work in and unsafe conditions e.g., lack of PPE. They did complain about working conditions, which were, indeed awful. At no time did they accuse colleagues of negligence, malpractice, or murder. They did not volunteer with the intent to spy on and mock their colleagues.
I could write a book debunking most of Erin's premises. Bottom line is this is written by a conspiracy theorist who was getting paid $10,000/week (follow the money, as Erin says) to show the world how incompetent her fellow professionals were and to accuse them, the hospital, and the governor of murder in order to increase her fame. I read this book so I could speak about it knowledgeably. I was biased going in, and tried to read it with an open mind. Nonetheless, I was appalled at the lack of knowledge, ethics, and professionalism. On top of that, she clearly didn't have an editor, which was badly needed.
July 28, 2020
Fake data, from another anti-vaxxer. This woman practices medicine and video tapes patients recording with her broken cell phone. I'm sure one of the patients sues her for fraud, invasion of privacy, and HIPPA laws. A little booklet is not a book. Ghost writer seems to have forgot to send to editor as most of it does not make sense.
August 28, 2020
More AV pseudoscience and Conspiracy theories, by someone violating HIPAA instead of actually caring for her patients.
August 16, 2020
They said New York was different than Montana, and New York would become the epicenter of the US covid-19 crisis. Within that epicenter, certain public hospitals became the epicenter within NY hospitals. Why has New York 23,000 case fatalities compared to 108 of Tokyo? This nurse was there, and she registered the horrible abuses, a full blown order to disregard standard health care procedures, and why it is statistically and ethically unsound to put people on vents without even knowing that they have covid-19. Her story reflects the 23,000 fatalities of New York, not what the mainstream media claims that it is.
All reviews listing her as a fraud or an anti-vaxxer come from people who are deliberately attacking her on false grounds. They are either part of the system or unwilling to listen to the voice of on-the-ground whistleblowers who have worked their hearts out to bring this story to the people.
This is an important book if you do not want to follow the lies and abuse you face when you turn on television. We need to savior voices of truth, especially in times when they are attacked and marginalized.
All reviews listing her as a fraud or an anti-vaxxer come from people who are deliberately attacking her on false grounds. They are either part of the system or unwilling to listen to the voice of on-the-ground whistleblowers who have worked their hearts out to bring this story to the people.
This is an important book if you do not want to follow the lies and abuse you face when you turn on television. We need to savior voices of truth, especially in times when they are attacked and marginalized.
October 2, 2020
I'd like to write an honest review of this book, sans the ad hominem attacks with which so many on this site are laden. I am not a person trained in medical science, though I am well educated and come from several generations of physicians; still I pride myself on being able to think in a critical and non-judgmental manner when assessing the supposed facts presented in this book.
Short of being present on the hospital floors of Elmhurst Hospital and being able to look over Nurse Olszewski's shoulder, you pretty much have to accept that her account is not all fiction. In fact, given her record in the military and her willingness to go to New York to put herself at further risk to help COVID patients in an unfamiliar setting, and with the laid bare transcripts she presents, especially conversations with attending physicians, it is fairly easy to accept that a lot of her narrative, if not all of it, is true. Aside from the stray typo that seems to be due to a lack of having a good editor, I felt this story truly compelling and well written.
I tend to listen to people who have vast on the ground, first hand expertise, especially in fields I am not familiar with. If I can line those experiences up with my own personal experience, then all the better. Even if you cannot reconcile her narrative, Ms. Olszewski gives valuable advice here: don't ever go into a hospital alone without an advocate that knows how to speak up and fight for you. This is one of the most believable occurrences at Elmhurst; patients' relatives were excluded from visiting them, hence these patients were "voiceless" after intubation.
Not that all medical folks are terrible at what they do; medicine is like any other profession with all degrees of ability, and you just have to exercise a critical eye towards them. 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions are always warranted. I have specific experience as an advocate for my niece who was dying in a very prestigious hospital in Boston; she did not survive due to medical mistakes made by residents and interns who didn't seem to know what they were doing. That experience taught me to ask questions, hold doctors and personnel accountable; be skeptical when they asked me to "pay up front" for the 5 surgeries that would be necessary to heal an arthritic ankle (I finally got a 4th opinion and got it down to 1 surgery...very successful; even so, I asked questions; LOTS of questions.
This being said, everyone should read this story. It's impressive and sad to say, nothing new in the medical profession, which in the end IS just a business...as I was told by a very excellent nurse who attended me in hospital: "Get the hell out of here while you can, it's not a hotel...infection is rampant". Heed Ms. Olszewski's warnings; and then read on and see if you don't come to the same conclusion that I did. She is correct in asking for a full investigation of Elmhurst Hospital.
Short of being present on the hospital floors of Elmhurst Hospital and being able to look over Nurse Olszewski's shoulder, you pretty much have to accept that her account is not all fiction. In fact, given her record in the military and her willingness to go to New York to put herself at further risk to help COVID patients in an unfamiliar setting, and with the laid bare transcripts she presents, especially conversations with attending physicians, it is fairly easy to accept that a lot of her narrative, if not all of it, is true. Aside from the stray typo that seems to be due to a lack of having a good editor, I felt this story truly compelling and well written.
I tend to listen to people who have vast on the ground, first hand expertise, especially in fields I am not familiar with. If I can line those experiences up with my own personal experience, then all the better. Even if you cannot reconcile her narrative, Ms. Olszewski gives valuable advice here: don't ever go into a hospital alone without an advocate that knows how to speak up and fight for you. This is one of the most believable occurrences at Elmhurst; patients' relatives were excluded from visiting them, hence these patients were "voiceless" after intubation.
Not that all medical folks are terrible at what they do; medicine is like any other profession with all degrees of ability, and you just have to exercise a critical eye towards them. 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions are always warranted. I have specific experience as an advocate for my niece who was dying in a very prestigious hospital in Boston; she did not survive due to medical mistakes made by residents and interns who didn't seem to know what they were doing. That experience taught me to ask questions, hold doctors and personnel accountable; be skeptical when they asked me to "pay up front" for the 5 surgeries that would be necessary to heal an arthritic ankle (I finally got a 4th opinion and got it down to 1 surgery...very successful; even so, I asked questions; LOTS of questions.
This being said, everyone should read this story. It's impressive and sad to say, nothing new in the medical profession, which in the end IS just a business...as I was told by a very excellent nurse who attended me in hospital: "Get the hell out of here while you can, it's not a hotel...infection is rampant". Heed Ms. Olszewski's warnings; and then read on and see if you don't come to the same conclusion that I did. She is correct in asking for a full investigation of Elmhurst Hospital.
August 25, 2020
“If parents do the research and choose to give the entire vaccine schedule to their child, then that is their right. It also should be their right to give their child none, or just a few.”
“Naysayers will try to dismiss moms because they don’t have medical degrees, but if you do have a medical degree and you get between the industry and its money, they dismiss you anyway and say you’re a quack.”
“If you get sick people healthy, the money goes away. That’s pretty much the basis of the entire healthcare industry.”
“For example, nearly 150 animal studies have shown Vitamin C to be effective against viral infections.”
“What the average person didn’t understand, though, was that these people weren’t dying because the disease was so deadly. They were dying of bad decisions and inexperience.”
“Instead of actually looking into what was happening inside the hospital, de Blasio brought donuts. It was the biggest crock of bullshit that I’d seen since my Army days.”
“With every post that I did, other nurses were messaging me to say that they had experienced the same things that I did across New York and across the country.”
“Whatever you think of my thoughts on vaccines, it doesn’t change the fact of what I witnessed and recorded inside of Elmhurst.”
“What I am aiming for is those people in the middle — those people who haven’t yet decided what to think of what’s been happening during this pandemic. These people want to do their own research, to hear the truth from the people who were actually there, and not government officials in suits hosting press conferences.”
“Yes, we need to revamp the entire healthcare system. Hospitals should not be getting paid to let interns and residents play doctor with people’s lives.”
“Naysayers will try to dismiss moms because they don’t have medical degrees, but if you do have a medical degree and you get between the industry and its money, they dismiss you anyway and say you’re a quack.”
“If you get sick people healthy, the money goes away. That’s pretty much the basis of the entire healthcare industry.”
“For example, nearly 150 animal studies have shown Vitamin C to be effective against viral infections.”
“What the average person didn’t understand, though, was that these people weren’t dying because the disease was so deadly. They were dying of bad decisions and inexperience.”
“Instead of actually looking into what was happening inside the hospital, de Blasio brought donuts. It was the biggest crock of bullshit that I’d seen since my Army days.”
“With every post that I did, other nurses were messaging me to say that they had experienced the same things that I did across New York and across the country.”
“Whatever you think of my thoughts on vaccines, it doesn’t change the fact of what I witnessed and recorded inside of Elmhurst.”
“What I am aiming for is those people in the middle — those people who haven’t yet decided what to think of what’s been happening during this pandemic. These people want to do their own research, to hear the truth from the people who were actually there, and not government officials in suits hosting press conferences.”
“Yes, we need to revamp the entire healthcare system. Hospitals should not be getting paid to let interns and residents play doctor with people’s lives.”
October 2, 2020
...and there you have it. I knew it was going to be bad, but it was even worse. It takes an extremely brave person to speak out. Erin is a hero - and Nicole and Cameron are heroes as well.
September 17, 2020
I could have done without the childhood stories but I understand there needed to be some context to how Erin came to be who she is. What she did by going undercover and speaking out is beyond courageous. She risked and most likely lost her entire nursing career in order to advocate for all those patients that died needlessly. This is an eye opening book and one we should all read.
November 21, 2020
We all should want to pursue the truth no matter where it leads or what preconceptions it challenges in us. Erin is incredibly courageous and her book sheds light, with first-hand accounts, on what has been an incredibly heartbreaking season for those who lost loved ones to Covid. It shows what many of us suspected, but didn’t want to believe could be true.
March 4, 2021
I watched her undercover video a few weeks ago and wanted to read what she had to say. With the cover-up information coming out recently about Cuomo, it's safe to say not everything we've been told is truthful. I do follow her IG account where she anonymously shares accounts from other nurses in other hospitals going through the same thing.
November 22, 2020
This video explains how this book is full of fake information: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=y...#
If you use critical reasoning skills, as reviewed in the video, you’ll understand how you can figure out yourself how her information is fake and harmful.
Please don’t read this book of false and dangerous information.
If you use critical reasoning skills, as reviewed in the video, you’ll understand how you can figure out yourself how her information is fake and harmful.
Please don’t read this book of false and dangerous information.
March 20, 2021
Truth about our healthcare system
Financially incentivizing COVID-19 has ruined our healthcare system in ALL states.This book shows how. Great read that will anger you greatly. Highly recommended to those seeking truth.
Financially incentivizing COVID-19 has ruined our healthcare system in ALL states.This book shows how. Great read that will anger you greatly. Highly recommended to those seeking truth.
May 31, 2021
It is very obvious that the people giving this book one star reviews are doing so because they disagree with the author’s politics. Unfortunately there is really no logical reason for someone to fabricate the information presented here, and the real world is not black and white. Actual intelligence includes an acknowledgment of the nuances and uncomfortable facts of reality, even IF (gasp) the person providing the information voted differently than you would have. But for many people it is more comfortable to live in a bubble of denial rather than admit that these situations can and do occur.
September 8, 2021
Pretty eye opening about how hospitals work & are funded. I can see how fed up Erin & others are. Cuomo. What a joke! Although the book was not written very well, it was interesting to see behind the scenes.
September 1, 2020
Heartfelt, sincere and courageous.
August 31, 2020
Amazing book! A must read.
November 4, 2020
A must read
This is a well written and documented account of abuse of trust and what can happen when the nation panics.
This is a well written and documented account of abuse of trust and what can happen when the nation panics.
January 8, 2021
If I could only give '0' stars ... save your time and your brain. This one hurt ...
November 27, 2021
I’ve followed Nurse Erin since her documentary debuted and bought her book a while ago, but with so many books on my to-read list I just now finally read it. Erin’s story is an amazing one. I like how she gives some back history of herself, and how she became who she is. I admire her bravery and willingness to come out with the truth. I think everyone needs to read this book to learn the horrifying truths that many of us already suspected were being covered up.
May 22, 2021
Necessary
It took a lot of fortitude do be a whistleblower and doing it in the correct legal format. Many thanks to the author for sticking her reputation and career on the line as well as her life. A compelling document.
It took a lot of fortitude do be a whistleblower and doing it in the correct legal format. Many thanks to the author for sticking her reputation and career on the line as well as her life. A compelling document.
October 11, 2021
Thanks for shining a light on the corruption!!
October 3, 2021
WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU AND YOUR COUNTRY? This slim volume is one of the best testaments that I've read concerning the mismanagement of COVID-19 from medical, social, psychological, public health, and global perspectives that I've seen, and I do a lot of reading on this subject! First, the author, Erin Marie Olszewski, BSN, RN, an Iraq war veteran and nurse who went to the belly of the beast, Elmhurst Hospital, NYC, to attempt to help you where the epidemic seemed to be worse in the U.S. She could probably have stayed in sunny Florida, and soaked up some Vitamin D3 while benefitting from EVERYTHING that Governor Ron DeSantis did right--which was to listen to and consider many perspectives before he started issuing and edicts, and being the first governor to rescind all mandates, now presides over perhaps the state that weathered this world-wide panic the best.
Her descriptions of everything that was done wrong in NY can be contrasted easily with almost any other metropolitan area, in which NYC ranks at the very bottom on most statistics. Her stories are heart-wrenching, because with all of her trauma and combat-related experience, Elmhurst seemed like a war zone--and then suddenly, there was no need for thousands of ventilators, and the governor had quarantined all Covid-19 patients into nursing homes, where death spread like a prarie fire. All of this was unnecessary.
The book begins with an excellent review of the medical, psycho-social, international, and boneheaded predictive reactions to the pandemic of Chinese origin, yet the Chinese were least transparent in providing any information (except propaganda of course) that would have helped to guide the rest of the world to make reasonable decisions in the important spheres of emergency management, public heath, medicine (early treatment works best, NOT end of life "heroic" treatments), government (response to panic), and forgettable moments such as when Dr. Anthony Fauci declared "I am science!" obliterating intelligent responses to the changing face of the pandemic in every state, responses to different stake-holders who benefitting from complete lockdowns, to others who benefitted from early opening up from any mandates whatsoever--first Florida, then Texas. Living in Texas, I see the struggle between those who favor the deSantis approach, which Governor Abbott has largely taken, and those in places like Austin who seem to LOVE government mandates, and won't give up mask wearing, even though such mandates are now illegal.
The Preface, by J. B. Handley, had portions that were first published on May 30, 2020!!! Yet they are as valid as I write today on October 3, 2021, as they were on October 3, 1919, before any one knew the pandemic of fear was coming....and it was truly FEAR the caused the outrageous actions taken by powerful people, worldwide, to take control of the world as though it were a county fair. No, a viral outbreak actually follows Farr's curve, developed 100 years ago, which is a sharply peaked bell-shaped curve--and had nothing been done, Covid-19 would have been gone from the Earth by the end of summer, 2020. That's what happens every year with new coronaviruses and is why, in my non-medical but educated (Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Psychology, minor in statistics and experimental design) and experienced (Diplomate, American Board of Professional Psychology) opinion--the management of this coronavirus, synthetic as it may be--it was as weak as most yearly virus outbreaks except for two factors--social media to spread fear, and Chinese Communist Party Propaganda, which was taken at face value almost world-wide.
Every educated person should be familiar with the points that Handley makes about the broader costs of lockdowns and social distancing which we are seeing today. An author I know reported about a week ago that since May, 2021, there had been between 10 and 20 teen suicides in ONE county of Montana. One rural county in a beautiful part of this country---extrapolate (and find the data if you can) to what the costs of the lockdowns, social distancing, and now loss of jobs and income because of mandatory vaccines...and you see the catastrophe is NOT over. Although the "Emergency Use Authorization" shots (they are not vaccines) have been shown to have peculiar ingredients and likely long-term eugenic (that's correct, eugenic) effects (including sterility in the young) effects it will be years before the drastic effects of the FEAR response to the Wuhan virus have been abrogated and rational, logical analytic thought brings the world out of the "pandemic."
This will make the years 1914-1945 seem, most likely, like puppet theater compared to what is coming....and I draw some of those suggestions from research that has been published in major peer-reviewed academic and medical journals since this book was published.
Nonetheless, Erin Marie Olszewski's report of the crisis in NYC, along with Handley's Preface, are a landmark on what I pray is the road to recovery from mass panic--the effects of which rival the mass delusions that Charles Mackay wrote of in 1851 in the enormously important "Exraordinary Popular Delusions." He was writing about the effects of economic bubbles, well known in 1851--Olszewski is writing of the effect of a modern popular delusion with vast economic effects along with the social, psychological, and medical effects that will be long with us.
She dedicates her book to her three sons "As you grow up, may you never be afraid to stand up and speak out when you know something is wrong, even if you're the only one." This is good advice for all of us, adults and children, parents and politicians.
Her descriptions of everything that was done wrong in NY can be contrasted easily with almost any other metropolitan area, in which NYC ranks at the very bottom on most statistics. Her stories are heart-wrenching, because with all of her trauma and combat-related experience, Elmhurst seemed like a war zone--and then suddenly, there was no need for thousands of ventilators, and the governor had quarantined all Covid-19 patients into nursing homes, where death spread like a prarie fire. All of this was unnecessary.
The book begins with an excellent review of the medical, psycho-social, international, and boneheaded predictive reactions to the pandemic of Chinese origin, yet the Chinese were least transparent in providing any information (except propaganda of course) that would have helped to guide the rest of the world to make reasonable decisions in the important spheres of emergency management, public heath, medicine (early treatment works best, NOT end of life "heroic" treatments), government (response to panic), and forgettable moments such as when Dr. Anthony Fauci declared "I am science!" obliterating intelligent responses to the changing face of the pandemic in every state, responses to different stake-holders who benefitting from complete lockdowns, to others who benefitted from early opening up from any mandates whatsoever--first Florida, then Texas. Living in Texas, I see the struggle between those who favor the deSantis approach, which Governor Abbott has largely taken, and those in places like Austin who seem to LOVE government mandates, and won't give up mask wearing, even though such mandates are now illegal.
The Preface, by J. B. Handley, had portions that were first published on May 30, 2020!!! Yet they are as valid as I write today on October 3, 2021, as they were on October 3, 1919, before any one knew the pandemic of fear was coming....and it was truly FEAR the caused the outrageous actions taken by powerful people, worldwide, to take control of the world as though it were a county fair. No, a viral outbreak actually follows Farr's curve, developed 100 years ago, which is a sharply peaked bell-shaped curve--and had nothing been done, Covid-19 would have been gone from the Earth by the end of summer, 2020. That's what happens every year with new coronaviruses and is why, in my non-medical but educated (Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Psychology, minor in statistics and experimental design) and experienced (Diplomate, American Board of Professional Psychology) opinion--the management of this coronavirus, synthetic as it may be--it was as weak as most yearly virus outbreaks except for two factors--social media to spread fear, and Chinese Communist Party Propaganda, which was taken at face value almost world-wide.
Every educated person should be familiar with the points that Handley makes about the broader costs of lockdowns and social distancing which we are seeing today. An author I know reported about a week ago that since May, 2021, there had been between 10 and 20 teen suicides in ONE county of Montana. One rural county in a beautiful part of this country---extrapolate (and find the data if you can) to what the costs of the lockdowns, social distancing, and now loss of jobs and income because of mandatory vaccines...and you see the catastrophe is NOT over. Although the "Emergency Use Authorization" shots (they are not vaccines) have been shown to have peculiar ingredients and likely long-term eugenic (that's correct, eugenic) effects (including sterility in the young) effects it will be years before the drastic effects of the FEAR response to the Wuhan virus have been abrogated and rational, logical analytic thought brings the world out of the "pandemic."
This will make the years 1914-1945 seem, most likely, like puppet theater compared to what is coming....and I draw some of those suggestions from research that has been published in major peer-reviewed academic and medical journals since this book was published.
Nonetheless, Erin Marie Olszewski's report of the crisis in NYC, along with Handley's Preface, are a landmark on what I pray is the road to recovery from mass panic--the effects of which rival the mass delusions that Charles Mackay wrote of in 1851 in the enormously important "Exraordinary Popular Delusions." He was writing about the effects of economic bubbles, well known in 1851--Olszewski is writing of the effect of a modern popular delusion with vast economic effects along with the social, psychological, and medical effects that will be long with us.
She dedicates her book to her three sons "As you grow up, may you never be afraid to stand up and speak out when you know something is wrong, even if you're the only one." This is good advice for all of us, adults and children, parents and politicians.
May 27, 2024
This book is not for every reader. I think you need to have an open mind in approaching this. This book follows the real-life story of Erin who works as an ICU nurse in New York City during the peak of COVID-19. She discovers the ugly truth of the virus, as well as the treatment of patients within the hospitals. Erin begins to face dilemmas in following her moral compass, or the orders of her colleagues/bosses. This book is extremely heavy if you have worked in the healthcare profession during COVID. Being a healthcare worker myself, I found some aspects of this book triggering so please proceed with caution. I feel as though this book was super informative, and really grasped readers. It wasn't completely one sided either in my opinion.
August 1, 2023
This book is not only ignorant and ill informed but I would go as far as to say it is dangerous. This woman is/was a practicing nurse which is absolutely terrifying based on what I have listened to. The description on audible Plus made this sound like an expose of a medical setting during the pandemic, in terms of substandard care and declining standards. The reality of the book however, is that it is a self indulgent rant about how the medical profession causes ‘vaccine injury’. No evidence is provided to support this. The author spends much of the book discussing how wonderful and caring a nurse she is while implying that everyone around her is uncaring and deliberately causing harm to patients.
She rants about improper use of PPE and staff spreading infection claims that Covid 19 is not dangerous for anyone except the elderly. The book is full of ignorant contradictions such as this. There is no balance of scientific evidence whatsoever. She recounts numerous HIPPA violations she herself has committed to ‘expose’ issues after pontificating about how vital it is for medical professionals to adhere to HIPPA.
I am always open to listening to opposing viewpoints when intelligently argued and supported by evidence, even if I do not agree. Unfortunately this is neither intelligent or supported. I have never felt the need to advise people to avoid a book before but this dangerous rant of a publication is the worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to read.
She rants about improper use of PPE and staff spreading infection claims that Covid 19 is not dangerous for anyone except the elderly. The book is full of ignorant contradictions such as this. There is no balance of scientific evidence whatsoever. She recounts numerous HIPPA violations she herself has committed to ‘expose’ issues after pontificating about how vital it is for medical professionals to adhere to HIPPA.
I am always open to listening to opposing viewpoints when intelligently argued and supported by evidence, even if I do not agree. Unfortunately this is neither intelligent or supported. I have never felt the need to advise people to avoid a book before but this dangerous rant of a publication is the worst thing I have ever had the misfortune to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2021
I am so confused by some of the reviews. She is NOT an anti vaxxer. Did you even watch her speech to the board? Also why does the way she feel about vaccines have ANYTHING to do with what she saw at Elmhurst. I watched the videos prior to reading the book and maybe others should do the same. As soon as I read the beginning of the book, I knew people would drag her through the mud but I think she was very brave for what she did. She could have left her history out of it but chose to share it anyway! She answered many of the questions that were going through my brain about NY and now that certain allegations have come out, it's not surprising what she saw. Anyone who has seen and reported anything wrong knows exactly what she went through. You can see in the videos/book she did try to report it to the higher ups but everyone ignored her. I appreciate her bravery on coming out. She has nothing to gain and everything to lose. If anything she kept enforcing the fact that our medical institution needs a complete overhaul. My heart breaks for all of the patients who passed not because of COVID but because proper protocol was not being followed. She is just one person but she isn't the only one coming out about what they saw. I hope all will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
April 16, 2022
people be afraid!
I have been a RN for 30 years. After reading Erin’s book, I had PTSD. All the horrible things I saw in those 30 years came back to me. I recently was fired from my position as a OR nurse because I tried to stop a surgeon from doing a procedure that I knew would hurt the patient. I’ve always been a patient advocate. I’ve tried to care for patients like they were my mother, sister or family. I haven’t seen the things Erin witnessed but I’ve seen enough to believe everything she wrote.
I have been a RN for 30 years. After reading Erin’s book, I had PTSD. All the horrible things I saw in those 30 years came back to me. I recently was fired from my position as a OR nurse because I tried to stop a surgeon from doing a procedure that I knew would hurt the patient. I’ve always been a patient advocate. I’ve tried to care for patients like they were my mother, sister or family. I haven’t seen the things Erin witnessed but I’ve seen enough to believe everything she wrote.
January 14, 2022
Brave book
Quite an eye opening book about the mess the health care system is currently in. Being in the medical industry, I don't find it surprising but do to d it very heartbreaking the unnecessary lives lost to medical incompetence. I have seen some bad doctors but nothing like the author describes. Thank you for speaking up. Maybe something good will come out of this fiasco
Quite an eye opening book about the mess the health care system is currently in. Being in the medical industry, I don't find it surprising but do to d it very heartbreaking the unnecessary lives lost to medical incompetence. I have seen some bad doctors but nothing like the author describes. Thank you for speaking up. Maybe something good will come out of this fiasco
July 10, 2022
Excellent book. Courageous author.
An insightful, heartbreaking book exposing the unbelievable experiences of a frontline nurse at a New York hospital during the CO VID pandemic. The disbelief, fear, frustration, grief, and resolve experienced by Nurse Erin as she confronts the horror of the situation make the pages come alive. This book should be read by every American. Instead, it cannot even be bought in the Amazon app. So sad and scary.
An insightful, heartbreaking book exposing the unbelievable experiences of a frontline nurse at a New York hospital during the CO VID pandemic. The disbelief, fear, frustration, grief, and resolve experienced by Nurse Erin as she confronts the horror of the situation make the pages come alive. This book should be read by every American. Instead, it cannot even be bought in the Amazon app. So sad and scary.
April 28, 2023
This book was a disappointment . I am a nurse and was really interested in hearing about her experience. Her experience at Elmhurst didn’t even start until half way through the book. The first half was a whole lot of personal information that was not really related. The writing was poor and I did not appreciate the occasional sprinkle of foul language. Her story did confirm what I suspected happened in New York.
November 25, 2022
exceptional first hand description
Harrowing , enlightening , lovely autobiography and account of events , fascinating first hand experience , incredible , heroic , and inspiring
Harrowing , enlightening , lovely autobiography and account of events , fascinating first hand experience , incredible , heroic , and inspiring
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