Letter to the Editor

Personal protective equipment, also known as PPE, is critical to all healthcare workers.

What is included when talking about PPE? The most common PPE includes masks, gloves, eye

protection such as googles or a face shield, gowns, and shoe covers. Due to Covid-19, there has

been on emphasis on the importance of PPE for all individuals. This influx in the use and need

for PPE has led to a shortage of availability for health care workers. Some facilities require

healthcare workers to bring their own cloth masks while other facilities provide one mask a day

no matter how long the shift.

PPE is used every day by health care workers. For example, anytime a nurse puts on

gloves, they are using PPE. Health care workers now wear masks their whole shift which is

another example of utilizing PPE. There are also things called precautions that patients in a

hospital are put into. The most common precautions are contact, droplet, and airborne. The

different precautions will instruct what PPE must be worn before entering the room. It is also

commonly accompanied by a sign that shows whoever is entering exactly what to wear. Covid-

19 is considered both droplet and airborne precautions. This means that an N95 respirator, eye

protection, gown, and gloves must be applied before walking into a patient’s room who tested

positive for Covid-19. These precautions along with wearing the proper PPE can protect not only

the healthcare worker, but also all other patients the healthcare worker encounters. It prevents

cross contamination. Many hospitals only allow one surgical mask per shift no matter what type

of precautions a healthcare provider enters, or the number of patients they encounter per day.

They are also required to wear N95s for weeks at a time or until it falls apart. This leads to

unnecessary spread of germs throughout the hospital. If a healthcare worker at any point touches

that mask, all germs are now present on their hands and are being passed from patient to patient.
There is a need for more access and allowance to masks during a shift to protect both the

healthcare provider and all the patients they encounter.