Pediatrician Dr. Sean Bradley has one N95 mask.

Not for the day, the week or even the month.

One mask to use "indefinitely."

His practice, Iron Horse Pediatrics, like hospitals and medical facilities around the country, is rationing personal protective equipment, which has become scarce during the coronavirus pandemic.

The masks are meant to be disposed of after each patient encounter. Instead, Bradley is only wearing his mask during interactions with patients with respiratory symptoms.

"I'm trying to make it last as long as possible," he said.

Last week his practice learned about a new, free service being offered by Children's Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs to area pediatrician, general practitioner and dental offices: The hospital is sanitizing the masks using ultraviolet light, extending their wear to a potential four times.

Iron Horse is now having its masks decontaminated every several days, Bradley said.

The program buys Bradley and his colleagues some time. He hopes the supply chain soon ramps up, but, "it's nice to know I have the equipment for now."

The idea arose at a virtual town hall-style meeting Children's officials held several weeks ago with providers across the region, one of whom wanted to know if the hospital could decontaminate masks for reuse.

Children's had been doing just that for its own providers since early February, using procedures set in place by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said Dr. Sara Saporta-Keating, an epidemiologist with Children's.

"We have a really great group of epidemiologists throughout the country, and this one was one of the protocols being shared in the epidemiological community," she said. "We thought it would be a great jumping-off point."

Extending the service to providers surrounding Children's Hospital locations throughout the state was fairly simple, with logistics presenting the largest challenge, said Theresa Lotspeich, director of physician relations for Children's Colorado.

Each provider writes his or her name on the mask using a special industrial permanent marker that can survive repeated exposure to the light. Masks are taken to Children's in a brown bag, hung on a piece of PVC-pipe equipment and exposed to the light for 30 minutes on each side, then returned the next day in a white bag, Lotspeich and Saporta-Keating said.

Although the masks are decontaminated, returning a mask to its original owner is essential because they're fit tested to ensure a proper seal, Saporta-Keating said.

The service is available to any practice in the Front Range, Children's Colorado spokeswoman Leila Roche said in an email. Drop off and pick up are available at Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado Springs, and the North and South campuses in Denver Metro. About 35 providers in Colorado Springs are participating in the program, she said.

Much attention has been placed on the risks to, and sacrifices of, hospital workers during the pandemic, but general practitioners are on the front lines of the war against coronavirus, treating patients not sick enough to require hospitalization, Lotspeich said.

"We can't do it without them, and they can't do it without us," Lotspeich said of local pediatricians. "We have to navigate this as partners."

Bradley said having a sterilized mask, for the time being helps dull the stress he and other healthcare providers are under.

"There have been several health workers who have gotten severely ill and even died, even those who weren't in the higher-risk age groups," said Bradley, a 34-year-old father. "Colorado has multiple individuals under 30 who have passed away."

But "worrying about your own health every day usually takes a back seat to trying to provide best care to patients," he said.