Perspectives from an ER Doctor: Still lacking PPE

As most of you know, my sister Emily is an emergency room doctor. I’ve asked her to keep me updated regarding the challenges at work, and I’m converting her messages into a series of blog posts. This is the second post in the series.

She says:

Our lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] is still shocking me. Previously we would use our N95 masks once and then dispose of them. We are now being required to reuse them for five shifts in a row. We are then storing them in a paper bag with the hopes that if we wait 10 days or so, any virus will be non-viable and we can potentially reuse them again.

They gave us new gowns today. I’m not quite sure what the purpose of them is because they are completely permeable. One of my coworkers misted some cleaning spray on his arm while wearing the gown and it did nothing to block the liquid. I’m pretty sure it’s only so patients think that we are using PPE.

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