There was a firm push from the Massachusetts Nurses Association Wednesday to do a statewide inventory of personal protective equipment as Massachusetts awaits an expected surge in the number of people infected by the COVID-19 virus.The severe shortage of so-called PPE has been widely discussed, but the nurses association said the time is now for the state to find out which facilities actually have what, so that people on the front lines can stay healthy.“These are human lives that are at stake right now, human lives,” said Massachusetts Nurses Association president Donna Kelly-Williams in a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker. She said the shortage of personal protective equipment on the front lines is appalling, especially as more and more people test positive for COVID-19.Kelly-Williams said the now common practices of reusing masks over and over again and the rationing of masks are putting nurses and other health care workers in harm’s way. “We need the equipment, we need it now,” she said.In this letter to Baker, Kelly-Williams wrote that “some health care facilities are making dangerous recommendations informed by supply shortages, not science. We should assume all patients are COVID-19 positive” and “those providing direct patient care should be wearing N95 masks and a face shield.”“We need to do a full inventory of what everybody has right now” she told 5 Investigates. “We need to know where the equipment is, how much equipment we have in place right now.”Kelly-Williams said she fears bigger hospitals could have more than they need while smaller ones don’t have nearly enough.Coordination is key, according to Dr. Howard Koh, a professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.“Hospital A could be overwhelmed, but hospital B nearby may not have that level of volume.” Koh said. “So if those hospitals can work together and communicate and coordinate, that’s hugely important for a statewide response.“My concern is we’re going to see more of those front-line people, our nurses, our doctors, our respiratory therapists, the critical team that we need to keep people alive, are the very people who are going to be too sick to give the care that’s needed.”We asked the governor’s office about the request for a statewide inventory, but a spokesperson did not respond to that question. The administration tells us it has ordered more than $50 million in additional supplies. The governor’s office did say Governor Baker expects to make an announcement on personal protective equipment on Thursday.
There was a firm push from the Massachusetts Nurses Association Wednesday to do a statewide inventory of personal protective equipment as Massachusetts awaits an expected surge in the number of people infected by the COVID-19 virus.
The severe shortage of so-called PPE has been widely discussed, but the nurses association said the time is now for the state to find out which facilities actually have what, so that people on the front lines can stay healthy.
“These are human lives that are at stake right now, human lives,” said Massachusetts Nurses Association president Donna Kelly-Williams in a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker. She said the shortage of personal protective equipment on the front lines is appalling, especially as more and more people test positive for COVID-19.
Kelly-Williams said the now common practices of reusing masks over and over again and the rationing of masks are putting nurses and other health care workers in harm’s way. “We need the equipment, we need it now,” she said.
In this letter to Baker, Kelly-Williams wrote that “some health care facilities are making dangerous recommendations informed by supply shortages, not science. We should assume all patients are COVID-19 positive” and “those providing direct patient care should be wearing N95 masks and a face shield.”
“We need to do a full inventory of what everybody has right now” she told 5 Investigates. “We need to know where the equipment is, how much equipment we have in place right now.”
Kelly-Williams said she fears bigger hospitals could have more than they need while smaller ones don’t have nearly enough.
Coordination is key, according to Dr. Howard Koh, a professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
“Hospital A could be overwhelmed, but hospital B nearby may not have that level of volume.” Koh said. “So if those hospitals can work together and communicate and coordinate, that’s hugely important for a statewide response.
“My concern is we’re going to see more of those front-line people, our nurses, our doctors, our respiratory therapists, the critical team that we need to keep people alive, are the very people who are going to be too sick to give the care that’s needed.”
We asked the governor’s office about the request for a statewide inventory, but a spokesperson did not respond to that question. The administration tells us it has ordered more than $50 million in additional supplies. The governor’s office did say Governor Baker expects to make an announcement on personal protective equipment on Thursday.
