Maine Doctors Taking A Diy Approach To Make Up For Shortage Of Protective Gear

Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support this mission by purchasing a digital subscription. One of the greatest challenges facing Maine health care workers in the coming weeks will be ensuring they have enough face masks and other gear to protect themselves from catching the new coronavirus, particularly if there is a rapid increase in the number of patients needing to be hospitalized. Now, a loose network of Maine doctors, engineers and craftspeople have been working to quickly produce a simple new tool that could give them some extra protection against the contagion: essentially a clear plastic box that’s open on one side and has a few strategically placed holes and flaps. [Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county] The box would be placed over the head and torso of a patient lying face-up, allowing a doctor to stick a breathing tube into the patient’s mouth but preventing the pathogens that the patient expels during intubation from landing on nearby health care workers or in other parts of the room. While those so-called intubation shields do not appear to be widely used, Maine also wouldn’t be the first place to use the concept.