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Idaho healthcare workers face respirator shortage

Idaho hospitals and private clinics are looking for respirator donations as supplies run short across the country.

BOISE, Idaho — As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, Dr. Heather Hammerstedt, an emergency room physician with Saint Alphonsus, says the United States is in the very beginning stages of what could be a long fight against the virus.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we are still talking about this in the fall," Dr. Hammerstedt said.

Dr. Hammrstedt added that it's concerning that in the early stages of this pandemic, emergency workers like herself are already running low on supplies like surgical masks and respirators.

"The problem with COVID-19 is that people are asymptomatic for quite a long time and are still infecting other people," Hammerstedt said. "So, everyone is a potential source and that is why our personal protective equipment is running low nationally because everyone who has a fever or cough has to be treated as if they have COVID-19. So, you are using all those resources when we are at the beginning of a pandemic."'

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There are several ways we can help our healthcare workers with this shortage. First and foremost, If you have a supply of respirators or have access to some, please consider donating them.

"What I am asking people to do is if you have N-95 respirators or if you have any other kind of respirators that are even higher level than that, there are a lot of construction, pesticide, paint, those kinds of masks that could be useful for healthcare providers," she said.

You can also help by staying home if you feel sick.

"If you are feeling mildly to moderately ill, we are probably not going to be able to test you anyway and so we recommend that you stay home," Dr. Hammerstedt said. "We are really only testing sick people who are being admitted to the hospital."

If you're feeling healthy, you too can help by staying home and practicing social distancing.

"We really need you to stay home," Dr. Hammerstedt said. "We need you to listen to the recommendations. We need the governor to be much more strict on his orders for the state because having people out in restaurants is not okay right now."

Gretchen Parsons is an anchor, reporter and producer at KTVB since 2016. You can follow her on Instagram @gretchenparsonsKTVB or  @gretchenKTVB on Twitter.

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