BOSTON, May 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GetUsPPE, a leading
volunteer organization connecting healthcare providers with
supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment), has delivered one
million face shields to healthcare facilities around the United States. Shields manufactured and
donated by medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific (NYSE:
BSX) were distributed by partners including Amazon to healthcare
facilities in more than 40 U.S. states and territories.
With the help of a team of national volunteers and regional
affiliate organizations, GetUsPPE identified the healthcare
facilities with the highest need for face shields. This was
determined through the online Demand Data Hub, which is the largest
database of PPE needs in the country.
This effort engaged other companies to source and deliver
domestically manufactured face shields to thousands of U.S.
healthcare facilities. Boston Scientific mobilized employees at a
dozen sites to produce and donate one million face shields in
response to the demands of the pandemic, while Amazon offered
logistics support by utilizing space on Amazon trailers to deliver
the shields from Boston Scientific to delivery stations. Amazon
associates at local delivery stations worked with Delivery Service
Partners in Chicago, Detroit and the Washington, D.C./Baltimore metro areas to deliver 124,000 face
shields to hospitals and clinics since April
24. Regional GetUsPPE affiliate teams and national
volunteers also helped coordinate deliveries to hospitals and
clinics.
"The magnitude of this donation of PPE demonstrates the combined
power of volunteers and American businesses to create solutions and
help keep healthcare workers safe," said Dr. Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, one of the co-founders of
GetUsPPE. "Boston Scientific quickly ramped up production, and
Amazon's support of the delivery of this equipment to frontline
providers will have an enormous impact on healthcare workers'
ability to safely care for their patients."
Although the supply chain for healthcare PPE is slowly catching
up to the demand, most healthcare facilities are still experiencing
serious shortages as they care for patients suffering from the
novel coronavirus. A recent GetUsPPE survey found that up to 60
percent of hospitals report a two week or shorter supply of certain
types of PPE. The face shield contribution by Boston Scientific is
the biggest PPE supply donation through GetUsPPE since the COVID-19
crisis began, and it is the largest to be identified through the
Demand Data Hub.
GetUsPPE will continue to collaborate with innovative companies
across the nation to help meet the PPE needs of healthcare
providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) includes items such as respirators, face
shields, gowns, booties, and gloves that protect workers from viral
particles on surfaces and during other situations of close patient
contact. When treating patients suspected of having coronavirus,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends
contact and droplet precautions, which requires only a procedural
mask, gloves, and eye protection. But emerging research [1]
demonstrates "that viable virus could be detected in aerosols up to
3 hours post aerosolization" – and prevention of aerosolized (i.e.,
airborne) spread requires a specific kind of respirator mask (N95)
capable of filtering out virus-containing droplets. However, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has estimated that
the US has roughly 1% of the 3.5 billion N95 masks needed to manage
a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic [2]. A significant increase in PPE
manufacturing is critical: healthcare workers simply cannot work
safely without these protections.
About GetUsPPE
GetUsPPE (GetUsPPE.org) is a movement
founded by emergency physicians on the front lines of the COVID
pandemic. Today, it has become a leading national grassroots effort
to equip frontline healthcare workers with the protective equipment
they need. Through its Demand Data Hub GetUsPPE enables the
donation, fabrication, and delivery of currently available PPE to
healthcare providers and institutions. Visit www.GetUsPPE.org
to find out how you can take action today.
Media Contacts
GetUsPPE
Name: David Close, Amanda
Peery-Wolf
Phone: +1 (617) 398-7521
Email: media@GetUsPPE.org
Related Links
http://www.GetUsPPE.org
[1] Letter to the Editor, NEJM, Published online March 17, 2020,
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973
[2]
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/hhs-clarifies-us-has-about-1percent-of-face-masks-needed-for-full-blown-pandemic.html
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SOURCE GetUsPPE