Equipment shortage worries first responders
Some are looking to replenish their protective supplies, while others say they have enough for now
Some emergency medical providers need personal protective equipment for their staff and volunteers. Others say they have enough stock for now, but will need more as they respond to calls for help amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, representatives for Mobile Life Support Services issued an appeal for personal protective equipment, whether donated or made available for purchase by the agency, which they said is the largest emergency medical provider in the Hudson Valley.
The requested equipment needed to protect health workers against the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, includes N-95 masks, surgical masks, eye protection, splash guards, gloves, gowns and decontamination supplies.
Mobile Life also asked for help securing unused personal protective equipment in its original packaging from closed medical or dental offices or other businesses that have such equipment available. Anyone interested in donating or selling such equipment is asked to contact Mobile Life via email at media@mobilelife.com or by phone at (845) 561-5698, ext. 251, or via local emergency services providers.
“PPE (personal protective equipment) is essential in keeping healthcare providers — including front-line personnel such as emergency service technicians (EMTs), paramedics and others — safe and healthy so they may continue to serve the community and respond to emergencies of all types,” the agency said in a press release. “PPE is in high demand and short supply during the current COVID-19 crisis.”
The release said Mobile Life has been working closely with local county governments to secure needed supplies, but they are not always readily available. A local dentist’s office, which requested anonymity, did donate some equipment to allow Mobile
Life to restock some of the items it had trouble obtaining on its own, the agency said.
Other emergency responders said they have enough equipment to protect staff for now.
Kingston Fire Chief Mark Brown said he currently has enough personal protective equipment for his firefighters, with the exception of thermometers. He said he wanted to be able to check the temperatures of crews coming in to work.
Instead, city firefighters are being told to stay home if they are sick, or are being sent home if they even sound sick, Brown said. He said the crews are also being confined to their own firehouses during their 24hour shifts and are allowed to leave only to respond to emergency calls.
“So far, my guys seem to be pretty good,” Brown said Friday. He said he put the more stringent measures in place because he cannot afford to lose a shift and needs to keep his staff healthy.
Brown said city firefighters have also been advised to take certain precautions when responding to medical and other emergency calls, such as sending only one into a building, depending on the symptoms of the person they are being called to assist. The chief said he is trying to manage the spread of the virus and protect his crews as well as the general public.
At Diaz Memorial Ambulance Services in Saugerties, Lisa Benjamin said all employees have their own personal protective equipment kits. Replenishing supplies as they are used, however, is not going to be easy, she said.
Benjamin, one of the general managers for Diaz, said the company has taken every step it can to obtain extra supplies, whether through its usual vendors, Amazon or traditional box stores like Walmart. She said Ulster County is sharing its supply of personal protective equipment, but requisitions can take up to 10 days to fill, and they are being filled on the basis of need.
Ambulance services are not considered “essential” services, Benjamin said, and are sometimes forgotten when it comes to receiving resources.
Even so, Saugerties police, firefighters and emergency responders are working together to keep one another safe, Benjamin said. She said Diaz will always respond to emergency calls.
In a phone call with reporters on Thursday, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said the hospital leaders and healthcare providers he has spoken with are doing their best, though many do not have adequate stocks of personal protective equipment. Ryan said the county has been distributing resources that it has received from the state, but he said he knows it is not enough.
Part of the reason the county is trying to set up mobile testing sites, Ryan said, is so people do not have to show up at local medical offices and hospitals to be checked for COVID-19.
Sarah Colomello, manager of public and community affairs for Nuvance Health, said her company’s hospitals, including Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Northern Dutchess Hospital and Thompson House nursing home in Rhinebeck, N.Y., have adequate supplies, staffing, and beds.
Nuvance also operated the Health Quest Medical Practice at Kingston Plaza.
“As always, we follow CDC guidelines on use of personal protective equipment,” Colomello
said. “We are experiencing similar challenges as other health systems in the United States and are mindful the number of patients afflicted with COVID-19 in the United States is increasing daily. One of the many benefits of being part of a health system with seven hospitals is we can work together to help balance and accommodate shifts as we see an influx in patients.”
Nuvance Health is the company formed by the merger of Health Quest Medical Practices and Western Connecticut Health Network.
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