Respiratory Therapists are among the most exposed healthcare workers in this whole Coronavirus crisis, and every day we go to work without the needed PPE, we are putting ourselves, our families and our patients at higher risk.
In some of our departments, 1/3 to 1/2 of our staff are out sick, some severely sick. We are having to fight with hospital administrators for our PPE, being given misdirection and misinformation about how to access it, and even when we get it, we're told to keep using it way beyond it's intended time.
We need to hear from you about what's happening in your location. Do you get N95s daily or weekly? Do you have proper gowns and botties? Do you have CAPR or PAPR available? H+H's own PPE guidelines are published here, but are they even being followed? We want to hear what has worked and what hasn't in the struggle to take care of ourselves, our families and our patients.