How to Leverage Collaborations Between the BME Community and Local Hospitals to Address Critical Personal Protective Equipment Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains across the world, resulting in a critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers. To preserve PPE for healthcare providers treating COVID-19 positive patients and to reduce asymptomatic transmission, the D...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of biomedical engineering 2020-09, Vol.48 (9), p.2281-2284
Main Authors: George, M. Patricia, Maier, Lisa A., Kasperbauer, Shannon, Eddy, Jared, Mayer, Annyce S., Magin, Chelsea M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betacoronavirus
Biochemistry
Bioengineering
Biological and Medical Physics
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Biomedicine
Biophysics
Classical Mechanics
Cloth
Colorado - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
Coronavirus Infections - transmission
Coronaviruses
Coverings
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Editorial
Health care
Health Personnel
Hospitals
Humans
Intersectoral Collaboration
Local government
Masks - supply & distribution
Medical personnel
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Patients
Personal protective equipment
Personal Protective Equipment - supply & distribution
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control
Pneumonia, Viral - transmission
Protective equipment
SARS-CoV-2
Shortages
Supply chains
Textiles
United States - epidemiology
Universal Design
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Summary:The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains across the world, resulting in a critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers. To preserve PPE for healthcare providers treating COVID-19 positive patients and to reduce asymptomatic transmission, the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Colorado, Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus collaborated with National Jewish Health to design and test patterns for cloth face coverings. A public campaign to sew and donate the final pattern was launched and over 2500 face coverings have been donated as a result. Now that nearly three million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States, many state and local governments are requiring cloth face coverings be worn in public. Here, we present the collaborative design and testing process, as well as the final pattern for non-patient facing hospital workers and community members alike.
ISSN:0090-6964
1573-9686
DOI:10.1007/s10439-020-02580-3