As personal protective equipment shortages surface across the country, three medical assistants with Kaiser Permanente Salmon Creek in Vancouver expressed frustration with what they considered to be a lack of protective measures at the clinic Tuesday morning.

By Tuesday afternoon, Kaiser changed its policy to attempt to address the medical assistants’ concerns, but worries still linger.

The medical assistants, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told The Columbian Tuesday morning that they were not allowed to wear masks or gloves in the workplace and could not bring masks or gloves from home to do their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medical assistants are not supposed to directly treat patients suspected of having COVID-19, but they said they were concerned about contact with patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

In a phone interview just after 2 p.m., Dr. Mary Giswold, associate medical director for hospitals and post-acute care with Kaiser for the Northwest region, said staff couldn’t bring personal protective equipment from home, because Kaiser “can’t vet the safety and efficacy of personal protective equipment brought from outside the organization.”