– Medical Device Manufacturer Boston Scientific Mobilizes to Fuel Face Shield Donation in Response to COVID-19 –
BOSTON – May 11, 2020 – GetUsPPE, a leading volunteer organization connecting healthcare providers with supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment), has delivered one million face shields to healthcare facilities around the United States. Shields manufactured and donated by medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) were distributed by partners including Amazon to healthcare facilities in more than 40 U.S. states and territories.
With the help of a team of national volunteers and regional affiliate organizations, GetUsPPE identified the healthcare facilities with the highest need for face shields. This was determined through the online Demand Data Hub, which is the largest database of PPE needs in the country.
This effort engaged other companies to source and deliver domestically manufactured face shields to thousands of U.S. healthcare facilities. Boston Scientific mobilized employees at a dozen sites to produce and donate one million face shields in response to the demands of the pandemic, while Amazon offered logistics support by utilizing space on Amazon trailers to deliver the shields from Boston Scientific to delivery stations. Amazon associates at local delivery stations worked with Delivery Service Partners in Chicago, Detroit and the Washington, D.C./Baltimore metro areas to deliver 124,000 face shields to hospitals and clinics since April 24. Regional GetUsPPE affiliate teams and national volunteers also helped coordinate deliveries to hospitals and clinics.
“The magnitude of this donation of PPE demonstrates the combined power of volunteers and American businesses to create solutions and help keep healthcare workers safe,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, one of the co-founders of GetUsPPE. “Boston Scientific quickly ramped up production, and Amazon’s support of the delivery of this equipment to frontline providers will have an enormous impact on healthcare workers’ ability to safely care for their patients.”
Although the supply chain for healthcare PPE is slowly catching up to the demand, most healthcare facilities are still experiencing serious shortages as they care for patients suffering from the novel coronavirus. A recent GetUsPPE survey found that up to 60 percent of hospitals report a two week or shorter supply of certain types of PPE. The face shield contribution by Boston Scientific is the biggest PPE supply donation through GetUsPPE since the COVID-19 crisis began, and it is the largest to be identified through the Demand Data Hub.
GetUsPPE will continue to collaborate with innovative companies across the nation to help meet the PPE needs of healthcare providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) includes items such as respirators, face shields, gowns, booties, and gloves that protect workers from viral particles on surfaces and during other situations of close patient contact. When treating patients suspected of having coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends contact and droplet precautions, which requires only a procedural mask, gloves, and eye protection. But emerging research [1] demonstrates “that viable virus could be detected in aerosols up to 3 hours post aerosolization” – and prevention of aerosolized (i.e., airborne) spread requires a specific kind of respirator mask (N95) capable of filtering out virus-containing droplets. However, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has estimated that the US has roughly 1% of the 3.5 billion N95 masks needed to manage a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic [2]. A significant increase in PPE manufacturing is critical: healthcare workers simply cannot work safely without these protections.
About GetUsPPE
GetUsPPE (GetUsPPE.org) is a movement founded by emergency physicians on the front lines of the COVID pandemic. Today, it has become a leading national grassroots effort to equip frontline healthcare workers with the protective equipment they need. Through its Demand Data Hub GetUsPPE enables the donation, fabrication, and delivery of currently available PPE to healthcare providers and institutions. Visit www.GetUsPPE.org to find out how you can take action today.
Media Contacts
GetUsPPE
Name: David Close, Amanda Peery-Wolf
Phone: +1 (617) 398-7521
Email: media@GetUsPPE.org
Related Links
http://www.GetUsPPE.org
[1] Letter to the Editor, NEJM, Published online March 17, 2020, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/hhs-clarifies-us-has-about-1percent-of-face-masks-needed-for-full-blown-pandemic.html
