With hospitals desperate to find alternatives to dwindling supplies of single-use personal protective equipment, some wonder whether they can be salvaged.

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ANSWER. REPORTER: SCIENTISTS AND CLINICAL STAFF AT UNM HAVE JOINED OTHER UNIVERSITIES AND HOSPITALS AROUND THE COUNTRY IN USING A STERILIZATION TECHNIQUE S TO HELP WITH DECREASING SUPPLIES. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN KEEPING HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND PATIENTS SAFE. >> WE ACTUALLY HAD A CRISIS THE U.S. WHEN THE VIRUS GOES INTO A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC REGION, PPE GETS UTILIZED VERY QUICKLY. REPORTER: AS THE NUMBER OF COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO GROW, A PPE SHORTAGE THREATENS HOSPITALS AROUND THE WORLD. >> THERE IS A PPE CRISIS IN MANY PLACES AROUND THE COUNTRY. REPORTER: FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS UNM HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN USING A METHOD TO STERILIZE AND RE-USE PPE. THE IDEA CAME FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER. >> WE BEGIN INVESTIGATING LATE FEBRUARY, VAPORIZED HYDROGEN PEROXIDE BECAUSE THE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE VAPOR CAN PENETRATE THE ENVIRONMENT QUITE WELL. REPORTER: THEY TURNED AN OPERATING ROOM INTO A SEALED OFF CHAMBER FOR CLEANING. IN THAT CHAMBER THEY PUT THE EQUIPMENT AND A BIOLOGICAL INDICATOR. THAT HELPS SHOW HOW SUCCESSFUL THE PROCESS IS EACH TIME. >> WE BELIEVE THAT IT CAN GET INTO THE CREVICES AND DIFFERENT LAYERS OF THE MASK. REPORTER: THE PROCESS TAKES THREE TO FOUR HOURS. THEY CAN STERILIZE 1000 MASKS AT A TIME. >> YOU CAN ESSENTIALLY PROCESS AROUND 3000 MASKS PER DAY. REPORTER: N-95 MASKS AND PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR CAN BE REPURPOSED UP TO 20 TIMES. THE EQUIPMENT ALREADY DECONTAMIN

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With hospitals desperate to find alternatives to dwindling supplies of single-use personal protective equipment, some wonder whether they can be salvaged. Scientists and clinical staff at the University of New Mexico have joined other universities and hospitals around the country in using a sterilization technique to help with decreasing supplies.Personal protective equipment plays a critical role in keeping health professionals and patients safe."We actually had a crisis in the U.S. When the virus goes into a specific geographic region, PPE gets utilized very quickly," said UNM Professor of Medicine, D.J. Perkins.As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to grow, a personal protective equipment shortage threatens hospitals around the world."There is a PPE crisis in many places around the country," Perkins said.For the last three weeks, UNM healthcare providers have been using a method to sterilize and reuse personal protective equipment. The idea came from the University of Nebraska Medical Center."We began investigating in late February, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, because the hydrogen peroxide vapor can penetrate the environment quite well," Perkins said.They turned an operating room into a sealed off chamber for cleaning. In that chamber, they put the equipment and a biological indicator. That helps show how successful the process is each time."We believe that it can get into the crevices and different layers of the mask," Perkins said.The process takes three to four hours. They can sterilize 1,000 masks at a time."You can essentially process around 3,000 masks per day," Perkins said.N95 masks and protective eyewear can be repurposed up to 20 times.The masks that have already been decontaminated are already back in use by staff.