What is Trump waiting for? Ramp up production of PPE
It’s inexcusable that President Donald Trump has failed to use the Defense Production Act to expedite production of
N95 masks and other protective equipment for health care workers.
Courageous people like Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s Dr. Olivia Lee and Suzanne Minnich, nurse manager for the hospital’s ICU and coronary care units, are on the front lines fighting COVID-19. They and health care workers throughout the Bay Area are the heroes of this crisis. They should not be left wondering if they will have the basic safeguards they need.
They know about the doctor in Seattle and nurses in Miami and New York who died of coronavirus after treating COVID-19 patients. They know about the shortages of personal protective equipment, like face masks, shields and gowns, that plague hospitals throughout the Bay Area and the United States. But they go to work every day with unwavering dedication to their patients — to give them the highest possible quality care.
It’s a constantly changing landscape,” said Lee. “The anxiety and fear is very real for all of us. Our staff have family at home, young children and elderly parents. We are acutely aware of what’s going on, but we know that our community needs us, and there is no other way to go about this.”
With that sort of commitment, they deserve that we — and the president — do everything possible to support their efforts. Yet, hospitals throughout the Bay Area are experiencing shortages of PPE, and the problem will be exacerbated by the expected surge of patients in coming weeks.
Private companies, big and small, are doing their part by donating masks to hospitals. Individuals with sewing skills are churning out masks, too, but most of them lack the materials to make the heavy-duty, virus-blocking N95 masks needed by health care workers.
The generosity and efforts are commendable. But we’re now seeing that we can’t rely on private businesses and individuals alone to address the current and future needs. The Defense Production Act, passed by Congress in 1950 during the Korean War, was designed to address this sort of issue.
The DPA authorizes the president in an emergency to force industry to expand production and supply of basic resources, and to organize procurement of critical materials. The DPA was created precisely to deal with emergency situations that the free market is unprepared to handle — crises like the one we face today.
But the Trump administration has only invoked the DPA to force General Motors to make more ventilators.
“We don’t want to be nationalizing our country,” Trump said Monday.
His hands-off approach has left states and individual hospitals competing with not only other states, but also other countries in the global marketplace for PPE. They can only hope that manufacturers throughout the country will ramp up their production to meet the need.
It’s not working. Nor is it likely to work in time to deal with the kind of surge that has hit New York and threatens to hit hospitals throughout the United States.
Health care workers like Lee and Minnich don’t have time for politics. It’s not what is on their minds. They’re focused night and day on trying to meet the needs of their staff and patients.
“I have 130 nurses and eight physicians on our critical care team,” said Minnich. “The teamwork has been amazing as we work to open up more space and have it staffed. But we also need to have it stocked with supplies.”
“For the first time in my life, I think I fear for the what-ifs,” said Lee. Like, what if they don’t have the basic supplies they need?
That’s very possible without a coordinated effort to ramp up production of the face masks, shields and gowns needed to keep our health care workers safe while they battle COVID-19.
What are we waiting for?