SHORT SUPPLY
County running low on personal protective equipment
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, essential supplies of personal protective equipment for health care professionals continue to plummet nationally, and Montgomery County agencies are not immune.
“It breaks my heart really to see that something which was so plentiful in other countries can be in such short supply in our great country,” said Dr. Alvin Wang, regional EMS medical director.
First responders and others working in medical capacities use personal protective equipment when coming in contact with patients who may have contracted the novel coronavirus, according to a county memorandum. These vital pieces include gloves, gowns, eye protection, and N95 masks.
Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh acknowledged the scant amount of items during a press briefing this week at the county’s Emergency Operation Center in Eagleville.
“There are still no gowns. There’s a national shortage of gowns,” Arkoosh said on Wednesday. “Nobody can get gowns, impervious gowns.”
The dire need for gowns was made abundantly clear in a tweet posted on April 24 on the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety’s Twitter page. Officials called for businesses to donate extra gowns in an effort to resuscitate EMS agencies’ dwindling inventory.
Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator for the county’s public safety department, said Friday afternoon that “we have not run out of gowns, but we have a very limited supply.”
Wang added that his department works to procure supplies from emergency management agencies at the state and federal levels. Items can then be distributed to the area’s emergency medical service agencies, police departments and fire companies.
Wang said that county officials urged health professionals to learn more about personal protective equipment guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control.
“In times of crisis, the most creative and the most resourceful people out there are first responders,” Wang said. “Since the beginning, they have been looking for contingency and crisis strategies.”
Some procedures include rewashing gowns and using “disposable rain ponchos,” Wang said. However, “we know that every agency out there is using some sort of PPE or mask conserving strategy.”
Arkoosh also acknowledged that health care workers have had to conduct these measures.
“So nobody is using PPE in the way that we used to use it at the hospital where you use it and get rid of it,” she said on Wednesday. We are a long way from that.”
“It breaks my heart really to see that something which was so plentiful in other countries can be in such short supply in our great country.”
— Dr. Alvin Wang, regional EMS medical director
Wang agreed. “Some strategies depend on what their supplies look like, and that’s not how PPE is designed to be worn,” Wang said. “It’s designed to be worn once and disposed of.”
“So I still encourage every level of government … every federal agency that has the power to do so to compel the production of these gowns and masks by any means necessary so we can equip our first responders and our hospitals,” Wang continued.
While Wang applauded the county’s first responders’ efforts pressing on as the pandemic continues, he stressed that “this cannot be a long-term solution.”
With respect to paramedics, dispatchers have seen a “slight” decrease of
calls for service over the past several weeks, according to Wang.
From March 1 to March 7, the average daily number of EMS calls was 239, according to figures obtained from a public safety spokesperson. By April 24 to April 30, the average decreased to 187. The lowest average number was 166 daily calls during the week of March 22 to March 26.
Due to limited gown supplies, “most agencies are wearing gowns only when they receive the notification of a suspected COVID patient from our emergency communications center,” he said.
The county’s public safety department implemented a screening policy in March for 911 dispatchers where they ask callers questions about symptoms and travel in certain medical cases. If someone in need of assistance presents symptoms similar to
COVID-19, the protocol ensures EMS personnel can be prepared to safely respond to a call.
Other types of personal protective equipment depend on the individual station’s stockpiles.
“Most EMS agencies are wearing some [type of] PPE for all calls,” Wang said in a statement.
As for the county supply of personal protective equipment, officials have been working to make some inroads.
“We have been able to get some more N95 masks in, and … we have been able to supply agencies with them,” Wang said.
Stieritz added that the department is “anticipating another shipment this week, as well as a potential donation.”
Those interested in donating additional items can contact the department at 610-631-3000, or via email at COVID19@ montcopa.org.