For a doctor or nurse, the difference between safely treating a COVID-19 patient and falling ill herself — potentially spreading the virus to other vulnerable patients or her own family — is a thin polymer layer.
Amid a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), there is a concern among health care workers in Arizona that they may have to battle the coronavirus outbreak without the masks, glasses, gowns and gloves needed to keep them safe.
To provide these much-needed supplies, nursing programs across the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), including the program at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC), recently donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to the State of Arizona for battling COVID-19 and the coronavirus.
The group gathered nearly $2,000 worth of equipment including more than 40 N95 masks, 50 gowns, 300 face masks, 2100 pairs of gloves and 30 PPE kits (a set includes gloves, a gown, a mask and protective headgear) to help alleviate the shortage here in the greater Phoenix area.
“Protecting and supporting the needs of our first responders and health care workers is critical to safeguarding the health of our community during this crisis,” said Nick DeFalco, director of PVCC’s Nursing Program. “We’re all in this together.”