Delayed use of Defense Production Act leads to ongoing shortages

Delayed use of Defense Production Act leads to ongoing shortages of protective gear

 

Nurses are finding themselves in a similar position, despite comments from the administration that hospital capacity remains strong and states have all they need in terms of supplies.

Zenei Cortez, one of the presidents of National Nurses United, the largest nurse union in the US, told CNN, "It's really amazing that the leaders of our nation would make a blanket statement like that."

Cortez described situations where the lack of adequate supplies is putting nurses on the front lines of the pandemic in greater danger. 

In particular, Cortez says some nurses in Florida are using N95 masks that are not fit-tested. "That's really putting nurses in danger," she says, because those masks don't form the seal around the nose, mouth and chin that would allow the mask to protect the wearer from the virus. 

The shortages of PPE have already started to have an adverse impact. Cortez cited a nurse in LA who rushed in, wearing simply a surgical mask, to help a coronavirus patient who had stopped breathing. 

"So far, we have 148 nurses that have died because of the coronavirus, simply because they did not have the proper PPE," Cortez said, noting that figure is only what has been reported to her union and that the actual death toll of nurses is likely higher.

A spokesperson for Banner Health, a health network based in Phoenix with 28 hospitals in the Western US, said it currently has an adequate supply of most protective equipment but that challenges fluctuate, and that recently there's been a shortage of disposable gowns. To address the issue, the organization deployed reusable cloth gowns. 

"Our supply chain has been disrupted in recent months, and we expect this to be ongoing during the pandemic," the spokesperson said. 

Nancy Foster, the American Hospital Association's vice president for quality and patient safety policy, said the supply chain for protective equipment remains "fragile and overtaxed" due to worldwide demand. 

"While in general we would say the supply availability for PPE has gotten better, it is still fragile," said Foster, who said nitrile gloves, isolation gowns and smaller-sized N95s continue to be a challenge. Foster said the American Hospital Association continues to advocate that the federal government use the DPA to further increase supply. 

Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said she has heard from physicians across the country that their biggest challenge to reopening their practices is shortages of protective equipment. Bailey said her organization has urged the Trump administration since March to implement a national coordinated strategy on the production, acquisition and distribution of PPE supplies.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/politics/delayed-use-defense-production-act-ppe-shortages/index.html