by James C. Sherlock
Virginia physicians and health professionals in the front lines of the fight against the COVID-19 virus are suffering from a lack of protective clothing and equipment that could put them at risk and hinder the treatment of sick patients.
In Virginia, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources oversees the sharing of personal protective equipment and clothing among health systems, hospitals and independent physicians to ensure the protection of all.
With the permission of Dr. Soheila Rostami, president of the Medical Society of Northern Virginia (MSNV), I post her message to Secretary Daniel Carey.
Doctor Carey,
We find ourselves under unprecedented circumstances with the COVID-19 response. So far, in Northern Virginia, only Virginia Hospital Center is conducting public testing, but only for Arlington County residents. Community physicians are not equipped to handle specimen collections or testing; there is a shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE’s) and without proper protection, we risk the health of our staff, ourselves and that of our families. Furthermore, our offices are generally not set up for dealing with the aerosols associated with this highly communicable disease. Under a public health state of emergency, public governmental entities are supposed to coordinate efforts to set clear expectations for people to access testing, as well as where that testing will occur. We need to have a clear understanding of where to refer our patients for diagnostic testing.
MSNVA is in the process of leading an effort to collect unused PPEs for frontline physicians and nurses. We are directing the MSNVA staff to coordinate communication, pick up and distribution. We will be developing guidelines for our community physicians. We cannot risk a shortage of physicians, nurses and ancillary providers due to lack of protection. We must isolate our non-infected patients from the risk of being near those infected. Please consider adding the following actions into the current emergency response protocols:
- Create a distribution pipeline for PPEs for independent physicians in our community
- Provide guidance for physician offices to treat patients without unnecessarily exposing other patients and staff to COVID-19
- Coordinate independent testing facilities so physician offices and hospitals struggling to procure PPE do not need to test patients.
- Coordinate with state and local medical societies to disseminate information to community physicians in real-time.
We are available to assist with recommendations and welcome the opportunity to be involved with the response efforts.”
A Message to Dr. Rostami from a Northern Virginia physician the same day:
Most of the pediatric practices are in need. I run out of gowns next week, even with limiting usage to 2 per day. Would appreciate any and all personal protective equipment that can be gotten.
