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To the editor:
Personal protective equipment (PPE) has never been more important than right now. Health care workers are facing a shortage of N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, gloves, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Nurses are using the same N95 masks for a week at a time and are only able to get a new one if they get something on that mask before the seven days are up. This is causing a very serious issue among nurses from using the same mask all week and making it an unsafe work condition.
When taking care of a COVID patient, that health care worker must remove their gloves, gown, and face shield/goggles every time they leave that room. When they go back into that room, they have to get all new PPE. Since this is the rule in hospitals, there is a lot of PPE being used for just one patient within a regular eight-hour shift. Then if that nurse has more than one COVID patient or isolation patient they will have to use a new PPE for each patient and change it every time they exit the room then re-enter. As you can imagine, that is a lot of PPE equipment being used by just one nurse, now imagine how much is being used if there are five nurses on for a standard 8-hour shift.
PPE protection is the only way to protect health care workers from contracting any sickness that is currently in the hospital such as, COVID or the flu. Having a shortage of PPE is a big problem in hospitals right now, but can soon affect everyone outside the hospital because if nurses become sick from not using PPE correctly, they will have to take time off, making the hospitals even more short staffed then they currently are. PPE is a barrier that blocks body fluids, blood, and respiratory secretions which can be bacterial or viral contaminants to their bodies. Safety for healthcare workers should be a priority due to the fact that they are taking care of loved ones and friends. If they cannot be safe and protect themselves, then how are they going to be able to take care of the people we care about?
BRYNN HOFMEISTER,
Youngstown State University nursing student,
Hanoverton