GREAT FALLS — The United States is experiencing a shortage of certain types of surgical and hospital supplies, including isolation or respiratory masks.
This is mainly due to the fact many of the items are manufactured in China; the outbreak of coronavirus in China has caused production of many surgical supplies to be halted as people are out of work.
About 50% of the masks made worldwide are made in China so without that production, and combined with the large number of people using the masks during typical cold and flu season, the shortage is being felt in some areas.
Benefis Health System has started restricting availability of their masks - not out of fear of running out, but as April Woods-Tatarka, infection prevention coordinator for Benefis says, to ensure only those who need one have that option available.
She explained, “Before, where you might have seen boxes of masks all over the place, you're not going to see that any more. That doesn't mean if you need a mask you're not going to get one, or if the staff don't need one they're not going to get one. We're just going to be a lot more diligent about who gets them and how we use them.”
She also said they will continue to make sure patient and staff safety is their top priority.
Woods-Tatarka also shot down a rumor that has surfaced in Great Falls. Some people have claimed that Benefis has been forced to postpone surgeries for months due to a lack of surgical masks for staff; Woods-Tatarka said that is simply not true, and that clinical and surgical operations have not been affected by the issue.
As of today, there are no confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus anywhere in Montana. There was one suspected case two weeks ago in Bozeman, but testing by the CDC determined that the person was not infected with coronavirus. That person was placed in isolation at Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital until testing was complete and confirmed that coronavirus was not present.
On Friday, February 26, the CDC reported that there have been a total of 14 people in the U.S. who have tested positive for the virus, and no deaths associated with them; 445 people have tested negative. Click here to read more at the CDC website.
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