Prognosis
Masks, Gowns in Short Supply Leave Hospital Workers Exposed
- Hospitals, nursing homes, doctors’ offices all cite scarcity
- Absent federal guidance, states must compete for products
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American health-care workers still face dangerous shortages of personal protective equipment as the uncontrolled spread of Covid-19 fills hospitals across the nation and threatens patients and workers in long-term care facilities.
Dayna James, an emergency department nurse in Miami, said some days she’s had to clean patient rooms with hand sanitizer because no disinfectant wipes were available. Other days she was rationed to three Clorox wipes per room. Like many colleagues around the U.S., she gets a single N95 mask per shift, which means she may bring a potentially contaminated mask into a new patient’s room, ignoring longtime standard practice.