Protecting Our Staff Has Never Been More Critical
Our nation’s most vulnerable population has been amongst the hardest hit by the historic COVID-19 pandemic. Since day one, caregivers in nursing homes and assisted living communities have worked tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of their residents and staff, but facilities were forced to fight the virus with limited resources.
Critical resources, essential in fighting the virus, were hard to come by in almost every facility. Specifically, access to personal protective equipment (PPE) was a challenge for many facilities. Worldwide supply chain issues and soaring demand across every industry left long term care providers scrambling to acquire and afford the masks, gowns, and gloves they needed to help keep staff members safe and prevent further spread of the virus.
Many suppliers delayed or limited the size of providers’ orders, and many providers got taken by scammers pretending to have legitimate PPE.
The long term care industry made repeated calls to federal and state officials to prioritize these settings for PPE, but shortages remained. Many facilities were forced to reuse items like N-95 masks or use handmade cloth facemasks, all in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to optimize PPE supplies.
Read the full article from Provider.
