Local Doctors Are Getting Creative To Preserve Limited Medical Supplies

Emergency Room doctor Kathleen Anderson was working a shift at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital last week when a woman with a severe nose bleed came in.

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Normally, Anderson would have donned a yellow isolation gown to protect herself, but those are in short supply and high demand these days.

So she reached for the next best thing she could locate in the moment: An opaque-colored trash bag.

“If I really had persisted I probably could have gotten (a gown)," she said. “But rather than push it, I just grabbed what I could find.”

After poking out holes for her head and arms, Anderson slipped the bag over her head and got to work.

“You use what you’ve got,” she said with a laugh afterward. “Especially these days.”

Emergency Room physician Kathleen Anderson shows off one of the many washable face masks that have been donated to her office during the coronavirus pandemic.​

With a surging number of suspected coronavirus patients pouring into local emergency rooms each day, Anderson and other area doctors and nurses are sometimes getting creative when it comes to personal protection equipment, or PPEs as they’re known.

Items that once were readily available to staff are now closely guarded. Oftentimes, they have to be checked out.

The supply, Anderson said, is already extremely limited, "and it’s likely going to get worse.” She expects she’ll have to improvise again, whether it be with a trash bag or something else.

Masks are the biggest concerns, she said. Especially N95s, the snug-fitting, disposable respirator masks that filter air before its breathed in.

The devices are designed to block at least 95% of airborne particles, and ideally should only be used in a single patient encounter. But Anderson, a partner with Emergency Physicians of Tidewater, said she’s been trying to extend the life of her N95 masks by covering them with a fresh surgical mask to prevent them from becoming soiled.

Some of her colleagues have been showing up to work with their own personal protection supplies.

Her office partner, Dr. Richard Tomasheski, at first started bringing in an acrylic face shield. He later decided to purchase a respirator once he realized they’d soon be hard to come by. Another partner uses a PAPR - an air purifying respirator that covers her entire head and is often seen in hazmat situations.

Tomasheski checked Home Depot and other hardware stores for the kind of respirators used in construction and industry, but they were sold out. He eventually found one on Ebay for $53. He also bought a supply of filters to go with it, and a pair of wrap-around protective glasses to cover his eyeglasses. He cleans his equipment several times each shift and again when he gets home.

Emergency Room physician Dr. Richard Tomasheski purchased a respirator mask and wraparound eye protection to protect himself while treating patients with suspected coronavirus.​

Tomasheski said the model he purchased actually has a higher filtration rate than the N95s. It’s used for things like asbestos removal and working near hazardous gases.

The medical director and nurse manager he works with gave it a thumbs up, he said, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine has said it supports doctors using whatever PPE they feel is necessary for their safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has recommended that medical personnel consider using the type of respirator he owns during times of shortage, he said.

In an email, Sentara Healthcare expressed its gratitude "for the flexibility, resourcefulness and creativity of our care teams”.

“This is a time for creative solutions and we are using every tool available to keep our employees safe,” spokesman Dale Gauding said.

Sentara has been working with suppliers and local manufacturers to secure additional PPE, and are evaluating a disinfectant process for their current supply, he said. Other solutions are also being pursued through a partnership with Old Dominion University’s engineering department.

In the meantime, Tomasheski said he plans to continue using his personal respirator. It’s for his own protection and to free up supplies for his colleagues, he said.

“It helps keep me safe and conserves masks for everyone else,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

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