Several Baltimore business and political leaders are circulating a private call from officials at Johns Hopkins Medical Center for respirators that aren’t used exclusively for medical purposes.
These officials believe that several companies — and even a few individuals — may be in possession of Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) that Hopkins has purchased through the years for its medical personnel, but are also used in manufacturing and other industrial operations.
“As you are likely aware, the battle against COVID-19 has caused personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages across the nation,” says a privately-circulated email from Hopkins being shared around the city and obtained by Maryland Matters. “Considering the anticipated surge, more healthcare providers will need respiratory protection and fast. In particular, we will need additional (PAPRs).
“The majority of PAPRs bought at Johns Hopkins are from 3M. In particular, the TR-300 or T-300+ for Healthcare. We believe there are additional PAPRs within Maryland and Florida that were purchased by nonhealthcare entities that could also be utilized by healthcare workers.
“We are asking the non-healthcare sector who have under-utilized PAPR equipment (similar to the TR-300 or T-300+) to let us use it on the front lines to fight COVID-19.
“Johns Hopkins Medicine will handle the necessary logistics to receive, use, clean and return this equipment.”
Community leaders in Baltimore who have seen the email have already used their contacts to turn up unused respirators that have been sitting on warehouse shelves and in offices or other facilities.
Anyone who may have access to these respirators or knowledge of their whereabouts should contact Brian Schott in Hopkins’ environmental safety division at 443-417-5738.
“Your generosity is crucial to the Johns Hopkins mission to improve the health of the world by assisting in the protection efforts for our frontline workers.” the Hopkins memo says. “It will take all of us to join together to care for our fellow citizens.”
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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