Equipping the front lines: Hospital keeps wary eye on protective gear

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Lynde Staples Smith of Greenfield sewed these face masks and many others for those in the health care industry, which is expecting a supply shortage as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Submitted photo

GREENFIELD — When a health-care worker sees a patient at Hancock Regional Hospital’s new COVID-19 triage clinic, they gear up from head to toe.

Before they see their next patient, they have to swap out just about everything but their scrubs and shoes.

The bigger the pandemic grows, the quicker health-care workers go through personal protective equipment — an important line of defense in keeping them healthy and remaining in the fight against the coronavirus’s spread. Local health professionals say they have enough for now, but they continue to seek donations in the likelihood that stocks will be depleted.

Dr. Julia Compton, president of Hancock Physician Network, said Hancock Regional Hospital employees treating patients with coronavirus symptoms wear surgical gowns, gloves, surgical masks, goggles and protective head coverings.

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Masks, gloves and head coverings get tossed after each patient. Gowns have to be switched out, but they can be laundered. Goggles are wiped down.

Each patient who comes into the triage clinic also gets a surgical mask at the door, she said. Lately, the clinic has been seeing 25 to 30 patients a day.

Jason Wells, professional and organizational development coordinator at Hancock Regional Hospital, said surgical masks minimize what’s coming out of a wearer’s mouth but don’t protect them from germs coming in.

If a patient gets tested for COVID-19, which requires inserting a swab down their throat, the health care worker swaps their surgical mask for an N95 respirator.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “The ‘N95’ designation means that when subjected to careful testing, the respirator blocks at least 95% of very small (0.3 micron) test particles. If properly fitted, the filtration capabilities of N95 respirators exceed those of face masks. However, even a properly fitted N95 respirator does not completely eliminate the risk of illness or death.”

Wells said a perfect seal has to be created on wearers in order for N95 masks to work the way they’re supposed to.

“The fitting of those things is the most crucial part,” he said.

Compton said health care workers wear N95 masks when administering COVID-19 tests because when they insert the swab, patients often gag, choke or cough. COVID-19 is believed to spread through respiratory droplets.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus, the CDC says.

“The reason for those specific ones are really for health care workers who are directly in contact with someone who we have a high suspicion has COVID-19 or we’re going to test for it,” Compton said of N95 masks.

Wells said for members of the general public, the best personal protective equipment isn’t what they wear, but what they do. That includes social distancing, washing hands and covering coughs.

Supplies of personal protective equipment are dwindling nationwide. Officials are releasing it from the Strategic National Stockpile, and manufacturers like Honeywell and 3M have increased production of medical supplies. People, companies and charities are also donating supplies.

Now, with nearly 86,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of Friday and the number rising sharply, public health officials fear hospitals will soon be overwhelmed with patients, further boosting demand for protective gear.

“Right now it’s incredibly expensive because everybody wants it,” Compton said, adding N95 masks are usually 50 cents apiece and are now selling for $3 to $10 each.

The medical equipment supply chain relies largely on overseas factories — mainly in China and Taiwan — increasingly secured by governments for domestic use. Shortages of fabric and other materials used to make masks are starting to be a problem. The CDC issued guidance for hospitals facing shortages, including using homemade masks.

Compton said all of Hancock Regional Hospital’s personal protective equipment is counted each day.

“Knowing at some point those numbers will become critically low — we’re not there — we’ve reached out to anyone and everyone in our community and said hey, if you can help us, we will get to the point that we will run out, and so we will take anything that we can get,” Compton said.

The Hancock Health Foundation is accepting equipment and supply donations for the hospital as well as monetary contributions to the hospital’s Associate Crisis Fund, from which employees can request in times of crisis.

Nancy Davis, executive director of the foundation, said equipment and supply donations have been pouring in.

“Our community’s just really coming together,” she said.

Companies like Irving Materials Inc. and Avery Dennison have donated equipment to the hospital. Avery Dennison gave about 7,600 N95 masks and about 15,000 pairs of gloves.

Hancock Regional Hospital is also accepting homemade masks.

Lynde Staples Smith, a Greenfield quilter and self-described “fabric hoarder,” has been using her sewing skills to make face masks for local members of the medical community and other professions. On Wednesday, March 25, she said she had made more than 150 so far.

Her masks have gone to nurses, a funeral home, medical assistants, emergency medical technicians, firefighters and a nursing home.

In New Palestine, about six members of a women’s Bible study group at Community Christian Church answered the call to sew fabric masks by hand.

Chris Campbell was thrilled to use a few bins of fabric she had just sitting around, passed down from her mother-in-law.

“Not everyone can sew, so some are washing the fabric, some are cutting, some are sewing. We’re doing porch drop-offs to get the materials to the right people while keeping our distance from one another,” Campbell said.

Since she and her church friends can’t meet in person, doing this group project is a nice way to stay connected, she said.

A group of sewers from the Greenfield Senior Center are also trying to meet the demand.

Members of the Friday sewing club, lovingly referred to as Stitch and Chat group, are all happy to put their sewing skills to good use, said Kim Voorhis, director at the senior center.

“There’s one young woman in a different sewing group here who has made several hundred masks so far,” she said.

Local nonprofit Love INC was seeking volunteers to make the masks through social media and emails this week.

“All donations, large and small, will be appreciated,” said director Karla Whisenand, who said donations can be dropped in a collection bin just inside the double doors at Hancock Surgery Center (Door No. 23) at Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., or at the Love INC offices at 630 N. State St. in Greenfield

Shelley Swift of the Daily Reporter staff and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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  • Disposable latex, Nitrile, latex-free gloves
  • Unused masks of any size or type (N95, surgical, standard ear loop, including youth; specific instructions can be provided for handmade masks)
  • Regular or disposable hospital grade gowns and/or bunny suits
  • Clear plastic safety goggles
  • Shoe covers
  • Bleach wipes
  • Paper towels
  • Hand sanitizer

Drop off: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays at Hancock Medical Equipment, 1117 N. State St., Greenfield

Donation receipts can be provided on request. Call 317-468-4583 or 317-468-4252 or email [email protected] with any questions.

To donate to the hospital’s Associate Crisis Fund, visit hancockregionalhospital.org/hrhdonations.

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