Health Care Facilities Still Lack PPE Despite Implementation of Care Standards

When the coronavirus hit in the early spring, health care and hospital workers including doctors, nurses, and environmental services (EVS) staff were stating that they did not have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from COVID-19 and many had resorted to reusing masks. Although access to PPE has improved since then, there is still a shortage at health care facilities, according to a recent national survey of infection prevention experts conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)

This is APIC’s second survey on PPE access—the first conducted in March and the most recent one from October 22 to November 5, which set to find out whether health care facilities across the U.S. implemented PPE crisis standards of care for respirators and masks. The new survey found 73% of respondents “implemented PPE crisis standards of care for respirators, 68.7% for masks, and 75.8% for face shields or eye protection.”

The remaining respondents indicated they are reusing PPE, which is supposed to only be used once.

The survey also found:

• 9% of said their health care facilities allow staff to reuse respirators five times or as many times as possible before getting a new respirator
• 6% said their facilities allow staff to reuse their masks either five times or as many times as possible before getting a new mask
• 80% said they are concerned about the impact of medical supply shortages in their health care facility related to the current flu season
• 84% are concerned about supply shortages compared to previous years because of the pandemic
• 72% are worried about their facility reaching capacity
• 54% are concerned about their facility’s ability to provide safe care
• 51% are concerned about their facility’s ability to protect health care personnel during flu season and the pandemic.

“It is disheartening to see our health care system strained and implementing PPE crisis standards of care more than eight months into the pandemic,” said Connie Steed, APIC president. “With the flu season, we implore people to do what they can to keep safe, protect our health care personnel, and lessen the strain on our health care system: wear a mask, get your flu shot, wash your hands, and maintain social distancing from others to slow the spread of COVID-19.”