PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Nurses had already been making their way up Burbank Street from Berkshire Medical Center get protective masks and face shields when a man drove up to the curb. 

 

Could he get a mask for his wife? She works at Hillcrest Commons, he said. "I have her ID."

 

After a quick consultation, a mask and face shield were passed over to him. Berkshire Healthcare, which operates nursing and rehabilitation facilities, was a close enough affiliate of Berkshire Health Systems, the nurses set up outside union headquarters decided.

 

Local members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association expected to disperse more than 500 protective masks on Saturday afternoon to colleagues at Berkshire Medical Center. 

 

The MNA is calling for all nurses and health-care professionals to have access to personal protective equipment during the novel coronovirus pandemic. Saturday's distribution of KN95 masks was made possible by donations, particularly $150,000 from Skyhawk Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, based in Waltham.

 

The donations allowed for the purchase of FDA-approved KN95 respirator masks, along with gowns, face shields, sneakers and other items. The masks are comparable to N95 — masks that filter 95 percent of airborne particles — except that they are made in China. These masks were approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration on April 3.

 

Barbara Connor, a registered nurse in the endoscopy unit and a MNA local leader, said high-performance protective gear is being limited within the hospital to areas where known COVID-19 patients are being treated. 

 

"Some nurses do feel that they need an N95 versus just a surgical mask because of the amount that this filters versus a surgical mask for when they're dealing with the COVID patients," she said. 

 

The nurses say new information on how people may be infected but not showing signs make it more important than ever to ensure protection for health-care workers and patients.  

 

"I think everybody feels that we want to treat every patient as if they have it, right," said Rebecca Schaffrick, a registered nurse who works in pulmonology. "You're only testing symptomatic people, and they're finding more and more that people can be carriers of it without being symptomatic. And if you're not protected, you're spreading, right?"

 

In a statement announcing the disbursement of the masks, Alex Neary, an ICU nurse and co-chairman of the Bargaining Committee, said nurses have struggled to get the PPE they need. "Nurses have had to use the same mask several times. We should have adequate PPE protection as if all patients are positive."

 

The shortage of protective gear has been felt across the state as Massachusetts and health-care facilities have had to fight it out on the open market — often losing to the federal government — to get masks, face shields and gowns. It's lead to incidents of basically smuggling PPE into the state whether by mismarked tractor trailers or the Patriots' team jet. 

 

Michael Leary, spokesman for Berkshire Health Systems, said the system was "extremely proud" of the work being done at all levels by its medical, technical and support staff. 

 

Early efforts at setting standards for infection control, managing supplies and "judicious use" of PPE exceeding state and federal standards "have kept our staff safe and limited the number of our employees who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus to levels far lower than many of our counterparts nationally," he said, adding that the hospital has also segregated patients with symptoms of the virus to further prevent contagion. 

 

The shortages have lessened as the state began distributing PPE and local companies began gearing up to manufacture needed supplies. Still, to date, the state has distributed about 153,000 N95 and KN95 masks to all of Western Massachusetts and only about 26,000 to hospitals here. 

 

Dr. James Lederer, chief medical and quality officer, said recently that the hospital normally would go through about 80 N95 masks a month; but that would only last a matter of days with just two or three COVID-19 patients. 

 

"If we have 30 some patients, and we have multiple caregivers and you consider an ICU stay versus a general medical stay, then there's probably even more caregivers so that 80 quickly turns into the need for thousands," he said.

 

Leary noted that the MNA had cited steps that BMC has taken beyond many other hospitals, including the mandatory use of surgical masks by all staff anywhere in the hospital and that all patient-facing staff use surgical masks, gowns, gloves and protective eyewear.

 

"The use of N95 masks — in critically short supply nationally and locally — and gowns, gloves and protective eye wear for those caring for patients either with COVID-19 or with tests for the virus pending," he added. 

 

The MNA is calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to follow New York State's lead to require all direct care staff get a new N95 mask each day, rather than allow them to be reused. 

 

"Anytime anybody had something communicable or there was a question of it, you always treated them like they had it and prepared for the worst," said Connor. "But with this, we've changed how we're dealing with it. They're telling us don't mask until you know that they're positive. Well, it's kind of like closing the barn door after the horses."