Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials are increasing Strategic National Stockpile supplies and have ordered $2.7 million in personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to assist U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients, according to a news release.

Products are being sorted into 50 kits that can be rapidly delivered to hospitals.

Each kit will provide the PPE to manage the care of one Ebola patient for up to five days, officials said.

Enviro Safety, which has offices in Valencia, sells safety supplies to places all around the world, including African nations where the Ebola outbreak began, said Kevin Hill, vice president of technology and marketing at Enviro Safety.

“We are protecting customers from chemicals and hazardous materials,” Hill said. “We supply quite a few groups providing aid in areas around the world. With the Ebola outbreak, we have provided supplies in United States and Africa to help first responders and hospital personnel protect themselves from patients who may be infected with virus.”

Purchases are based on PPE guidance for caring for Ebola patients that was issued by CDC on October 20.

As product is delivered to SNS facilities, it is assembled into kits by SNS personnel.

The kits can be rapidly delivered from the SNS as requested to those hospitals that receive suspected or confirmed Ebola cases but may need additional PPE supplies that otherwise are not immediately available.

Although the number of kits is limited, they will help address short-term PPE needs. Purchases include impermeable gowns, coveralls, and aprons; boot covers; gloves; face shields and hoods; N95 respirators; powered-air purifying respirator systems and ancillaries; and disinfecting wipes.

Since the issuance of the CDC guidance, there has been a sudden increase in demand for PPE. Across the United States, availability for these products varies by product type and model, requested quantity, manufacturer, distributor, and geographic region.

“We are making certain to not disrupt the orders submitted by states and hospitals, but we are building our stocks so that we can assist when needed. Some of these products are not normally used by hospitals for regular patient care,” said Greg Burel, director of CDC’s Division of Strategic National Stockpile.

There are alternatives that can be used in the event certain products are unavailable, and those alternatives are included in CDC’s guidance. CDC officials continue to coordinate with manufacturers, distributors and healthcare facilities to monitor the availability of products in the supply chain. No products are being held by manufacturers or distributors specifically for SNS orders, and SNS orders are not being prioritized ahead of orders placed by hospitals.

Hospitals should coordinate with their state public health departments if there is a need to request PPE supplies from CDC to care for an Ebola patient. The state health department will follow the established protocol for submitting this request to CDC. The latest CDC PPE guidance is available at the CDC’s website.

Story and photo courtesy of SCVNEWS