Pennsylvania nurse union alleges continued rationing of PPE

Pennsylvania nurse union alleges continued rationing of PPE
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
One of Pennsylvania’s largest nurses’ unions alleges that hospitals have “resorted to severe rationing” of personal protective equipment even as they resume elective surgeries.  The 8,400-member Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals says that Pennsylvania state health officials are “being misinformed” about the availability of PPE inside hospitals. The union said in a letter to the state health secretary that working conditions inside hospitals remain unsafe because of lax COVID-19 guidance issued by the state Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Health Department says it has sent vast quantities of medical-grade face masks, gloves, gowns and other supplies in nearly 500 shipments to hospitals statewide.