I’m Steven Do, an ER Nurse Practitioner at a busy hospital in San Jose, California. Like many ERs across the country, Santa Clara County has been hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Our ER has been scrambling to meet the demands brought on by COVID-19. Each day, we are seeing higher numbers of Persons Under Investigation (PUI) and diagnosing more cases of COVID-19. This has ultimately put a strain on our medical supplies, especially our surgical and N95 masks. I’ve heard horror stories of my colleagues in New York having to reuse their N95 masks, sometimes up to a week. In between shifts, they are spraying their masks down with hand sanitizer to “disinfect” them, in an attempt to prolong the lives of their masks. My worry is that we will fall victim to this as well, which is why I am reaching out now to the community for help.



Today, my ER is allowing each staff member one surgical mask per shift (unless soiled or been exposed to a PUI), as a way to ration our supply. N95 and CAPRs (respiratory devices that have the ability to protect against airborne particles) are currently only permitted to be used for highly suspicious PUIs. Although surgical masks don’t provide as much protection as N95s, early literature suggest that if both the patient and the health care worker wear surgical masks, this is adequate in reducing transmission. Also, surgical masks can be donned over the N95 to preserve the life of the N95 mask.



The practice of reusing masks, especially a surgical mask, is unsafe and I want to ensure my team won't have to compromise the safety of themselves, their families' and that of their patients.



As we face this pandemic, the Emergency Department is at the frontline. After speaking to the Director of Materials and Supplies of my hospital, this donation will greatly be appreciated as we are now DOWN TO OUR LAST WEEK OF SUPPLIES. I hope we can get the donation funds needed as soon as possible so that an order can be processed and shipped. The original funds will be able to send over approximately 25,000 masks. The masks will be arriving from a certified factory in Vietnam.



Any excess funds will be used towards additional N95s and surgical masks as we move forward.



I will update this page as much as possible to keep everyone in the loop.

Read more