How to Leverage Collaborations Between the BME Community and Local Hospitals to Address Critical Personal Protective Equ
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Annals of Biomedical Engineering (Ó 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02580-3
Editorial
How to Leverage Collaborations Between the BME Community and Local Hospitals to Address Critical Personal Protective Equipment Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic M. PATRICIA GEORGE,1 LISA A. MAIER,1 SHANNON KASPERBAUER,1 JARED EDDY,1 ANNYCE S. MAYER,1 and CHELSEA M. MAGIN 2,3,4 1
Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA; 2Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz, Aurora, CO, USA; 3Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, Anschutz, Aurora, CO, USA; and 4 Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz, Aurora, CO, USA (Received 2 July 2020; accepted 17 July 2020) Associate Editor Joel Stitzel oversaw the review of this article.
Abstract—The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains across the world, resulting in a critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers. To preserve PPE for healthcare providers treating COVID-19 positive patients and to reduce asymptomatic transmission, the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus collaborated with National Jewish Health to design and test patterns for cloth face coverings. A public campaign to sew and donate the final pattern was launched and over 2500 face coverings have been donated as a result. Now that nearly three million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States, many state and local governments are requiring cloth face coverings be worn in public. Here, we present the collaborative design and testing process, as well as the final pattern for non-patient facing hospital workers and community members alike. Keywords—COVID-19, Cloth face covering, Personal protective equipment.
INTRODUCTION The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. By March 19, frontline healthcare workers already reported critical shortages of personal Address correspondence to Chelsea M. Magin, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic mail: [email protected]
protective equipment (PPE) including respiratory protection, gloves, face shields, gowns, and surgical masks.4 In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates medical respirators and surgical masks. These products must pass National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performance testing and be cleared for sale by submission of a premarket notification under section 510(k) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Breakdown in the global supply chain of PPE and the resulting critical shortages led the FDA to release guidances allowing ‘‘use of improvised PPE when no alternatives, such as FDA-cleared masks or respirators, are available’’.2 Simultaneously, the Centers for Disease Control and Pr
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