Some have been told to reuse surgical masks. Use body wash when the hand soap runs out. And when they request help on how to properly don protective gear, one manager said they should remember their training from the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Nurses and and certified nursing assistants in hospitals and nursing homes across the state are relaying “shocking concerns" about supply shortages as the coronavirus steadily spreads. On Wednesday night, representatives from six labor unions called on the Murphy administration to “ensure all healthcare facilities have the supplies, training materials, and staffing support they need to reduce everyone’s risk of exposure.”

Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, a registered nurse, held a teleconference meeting with union leaders late afternoon on Thursday in which he pledged to secure more protective gear for frontline health care employees.

“The union leadership is concerned that there will not be sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the employees who care for patients,” Persichilli, the health commissioner, said in a statement after the meeting. “Particular concerns were about face masks, N95 masks and equipment in nursing homes. We have been in touch with our federal partners about receiving an allotment of (equipment) from the Strategic National Stockpile as soon as possible.”

Debbie White, president of Health Professionals and Allied Employees said in a press release she appreciated how Persichilli listened to unions leaders’ concerns and pledged to deliver more supplies.

“It was reassuring to hear the Commissioner say that it is her priority to make sure our frontline caregivers who have the highest risk to exposure have the protections they need,” White said. “Taking precautionary measures now will go far to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

“Each of our unions will continue this dialogue with the Commissioner of Health to ensure more is done to ensure every facility has a plan in place to address the needs of workers and patients to minimize the risk of exposure for all, while providing safe treatment to those who become infected with COVID-19,” White added.

Health care workers’ worries have mounted in the past several weeks and are reaching a boiling point as COVID-19 cases are multiplying at a steady rate. New Jersey officials on Thursday said the statewide number of cases rose to 29, with one death.

“I shouldn’t lay in my bed and wonder if I’m gonna have the proper supplies to protect myself and my residents,” said one nursing home employee in Hudson County who spoke to NJ Advance Media on condition of anonymity because she feared retaliation.

In a letter sent to Persichilli Monday and publicly shared on Wednesday, the labor leaders asked to participate in the “preparedness planning activities that you are leading” since Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency.

“We remain hopeful that the coronavirus will be contained. However, while it continues to spread, we believe it is important that the Department include the voices of frontline caregivers in the State’s preparation and response efforts,” the letter said.

About 500 HPAE employees have responded to a survey about the coronavirus response, more than half said they did not have access to an “N95 mask,” said HPAE spokeswoman Bridget Devane said. More than 50 percent also said they had not received training on how to use protective gear, she said. The N95 masks are designed to block the wearer from inhaling 95% of airborne particles, including pathogens.

“Workers at several hospitals have been told to reuse disposable N95 masks, even though there is not a shortage of masks as of yet,” Devane said. “When workers have asked to be trained to better prepare themselves on proper usage of protective gear, they have been told that they received that training during the Ebola crisis so it isn’t necessary to retrain staff.”

In nursing homes where staffing shortages are common, the “shocking” shortage of supplies like masks, gear and in one facility hand soap is compounded the anxiety many workers feel, Bryn Lloyd-Bollard, spokesman for 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

“If they have family they need to care for or need to take sick time for themselves, what will the staffing situation look like,” Lloyd-Bollard said. “It’s extra important right now to deliver care by the book – washing hands for 20 seconds and taking their gear off the appropriate way.”

A nursing home employee in Mercer County who asked not to be identified said administrators are keeping masks and gowns under lock and key.

“Now we’re seeing we don’t have masks and gowns, and when I approach the administration about it, they have them locked in the closet,” she said. “We need the masks because we’re the primary caregivers of the patients.”

COVID-19 — the illness caused by the virus — has sickened more than 1,000 people in the U.S. and left at least 32 dead. Health experts have warned that elderly people and those with weakened immune systems should take extra precautions as the pandemic is expected to grow.

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NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Noah Cohen contributed to this report.

J. Dale Shoemaker is a reporter on the data & investigations team. He can be reached at jshoemaker@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDale_Shoemaker.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.