April 13 UPDATE: For the last 23 days, Project N95 has been focused on performing sourcing due diligence to help get PPE into the hands of frontline healthcare workers. They have been sharing this information with hospitals, healthcare providers, and governments that have submitted requests through the site. To date, only 1.6 percent of products submitted have successfully completed their vetting process.
In an effort to drive transparency, and reduce the ability for black markets to thrive, they are making their list of vetted products and suppliers publicly available here. One of the key partnerships announced is with Amazon, to coordinate with and enable suppliers to distribute PPE, at no profit through their business marketplace, to healthcare workers and those on the frontlines. The above data will also be shared with all federal, state, and city governments as well as hospitals, charitable organizations, and influential organizations who support their COVID-19 relief initiatives.
March 25 Update: There are numerous projects and initiatives where people of all skill levels are teaming up to work on alternative protection (and getting advice and direct help from experts at various universities and government agencies). If you have a #3Dprinter, check out this post: Calling All Makers With 3D Printers: Join Critical Mission To Make Face Shields (and Masks) For 2020 Healthcare Workers.
NOTE: IF you are trying to coordinate or sort donations and purchases of certified N95 respirators and surgical masks, keep reading.
In response to the overwhelming shortage of N95 respirators and surgical masks, the National COVID-19 Medical Equipment Clearinghouse, aka Project N95, is launching to serve the many hospitals and healthcare systems, including nursing homes, and other care facilities, in need of personal protective equipment (PPE).
See below for a volunteer call to action. Plus Harbor Freight response.
CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 14: A man wears a N95 protective respirator mask on March 14, 2020 ... [+]
They have forms and details on the above-linked site, but the organization has a prioritized medical equipment list that includes (but will shift as the demand changes in what they hear from healthcare providers). If you are a facility or healthcare provider with these needs, reach out to Project N95:
- N95 masks
- Surgical masks
- Isolation gowns
- Ventilators
The clearinghouse is coming from another new organization, the U.S. Digital Response Team, made up of former government chief technology officers, academic leaders, and technology corporate executives. Their mission is to coordinate with manufacturers who have the capacity and can produce PPE gear and distribute it.
According to the site, “the U.S. Digital Response Team was started by three former U.S. Deputy CTOs (one who was a leader on the healthcare.gov rescue effort, one who founded Code for America, and one who leads the Digital Service Collaborative at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center) and a technical executive formerly from Facebook and Stripe. Together we have already sourced 500+ qualified people willing to help and skilled in technology, data, design, and operations...”
In addition to working with manufacturers, they are working closely with government officials to find the most critical and urgent needs and to match those first. They are also looking for volunteers with a variety of skills, including but not limited to: technology (coding), supply chain logistics, and public health, specifically epidemiology.
Given my post earlier this week on the massive shortage of N95 masks and the safety of our nation’s healthcare professionals, many were and still are depending on last-resort measures of handmade, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) masks for their employees and workers.
Before this national initiative started, there have been a handful of tireless workers trying to match-make among the many healthcare organizations in Washington State and beyond. These efforts have been mostly focused on finding and distributing N95 masks that others may have at home or in their businesses.
You can visit these small, but powerful teams making a difference at this critical time with the links I shared on my earlier post, quoted and linked here in paragraph below - where you can dive in on Twitter to see what other new efforts are getting underway. They created a new, informative document packed with more links, ways you can help, ways you can donate: So you want to help with PPE's. Just to be clear: You are needed. If you have been trapped at home wondering what you can do to help during the Coronavirus pandemic, this is a way you can help.
“Clearly, there is a shortage of the manufactured N95 respirator. You know this. Healthcare workers know this. If you have been hoarding them, let me cut to the chase — there are people and organizations who need your extras and you can do the right thing and donate them. Get in touch with Holly Figueroa O'Reilly on Twitter — she is organizing the distribution of donated masks. Follow the hashtags #millionmaskchallenge and #millionmaskmayday and scroll through and you will find programs and projects around the USA and world.”
Additional Resources:
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators: Crisis/Alternate Strategies.
Earlier today, Harbor Freight announced how they intend to help alleviate the N95 shortage on Twitter:
“If you work at a hospital with a 24 hour emergency room in need of these items, please ask the office in charge of procurement at your hospital to visit the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Request Form so they can provide us with the information we’ll need to determine if we can make a donation.”
