Efforts Stepped Up to Provide Healthcare Workers with PPE

By Dayzsha Lino, Editorial Intern

On April 27, District 35 Sen. Steven Bradford announced that the Center for Innovation in STEM Education at California State University Dominguez Hills donated 1,000 medical face shields to be used for the personal protection of resident physicians treating patients with the COVID-19 virus at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

“These shields will provide that protection for those men and women who show up everyday to do the work that is so badly needed,” said Bradford, during a press conference.

Under the direction of  program director, Kamal Hamdan, students at CSUDH used 3D printers to create the 1,000 face-shields.

“I am extremely proud of our CSU Dominguez Hills family for their response to the health crisis,” Hamdan said at the press conference. “I’m proud of our students, our staff, our faculty and our leadership team.”

These efforts come at a time when personal protective equipment for frontline workers is more important than ever. On May 10, The Los Angeles Times reported that a 61-year-old nurse at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center named Celia Marcos died two weeks after saving a patient with COVID-19. Her surgical mask was not thick enough to withstand the particles spewing from the man as she performed various breathing treatments on the patient.

As shortages of personal protective equipment continue to be an issue in Los Angeles, many have taken their frustrations to the streets. On May 1, nurses across Southern California organized demonstrations arguing that the state was not doing anything about the shortages of N95 masks, which was putting nurses in danger by forcing them to reuse surgical masks.

However, despite initially slow efforts by the federal government to provide personal protective equipment earlier in the pandemic, nurses have been receiving various donations from members of the community.

“I believe [I heard] that nationally, hospitals were initially hit by surprise but upon checking we have received not only purchased items like masks, etc., but the community has come forward with amazing donations as well,” said Lysa Barry from Dignity Health at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.