Additional PPE now available through local health departments
In our recent survey for the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), 86% of ISMA members reported needing assistance in obtaining PPE. Now, ISMA members are among the first to be notified that ISDH has begun distributing a recent large delivery of PPE, including N95s, surgical masks and face shields, through local health departments. 

These supplies are being made available to medical and other health care professionals who are not associated with a hospital or who otherwise do not have access to these supplies. Based on these mask recommendations, ISDH has also asked local health departments to distribute N95 respirators only to professionals who conduct aerosol-generating procedures and to limit the quantities of each item based on the number of staff in each medical office. ISMA joins ISDH to respectfully ask that you be mindful when requesting these limited supplies, especially N95s, which have been an unusually scarce resource throughout the pandemic.

If you need these supplies, contact your county or city health department now to submit a request and coordinate pick-up. Contact information for each local health department is available here. Fishers practitioners should contact the Hamilton County Health Department. 

Conserving and reusing PPE
Everyone who receives PPE should continue to practice strategies for conserving and optimizing PPE. In addition, to supplement the ongoing conservation practices, the ISDH has partnered with the Battelle Memorial Institute to bring the Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) to Indiana. This system will enable physicians and others to decontaminate N95 respirators up to 20 times. Note: all N-95s will need to be free of any contaminants or stains such as makeup and blood. 

This system is available for use free of charge to providers and facilities across Indiana. To use the Battelle CCDS, physicians must enroll in this program. After enrollees complete the enrollment form, Battelle will email links to the enrollment contract, instructions, and their Battelle point of contact (POC). 

Please see this presentation and this letter for more information on using the Battelle system.

Note: ISDH has clarified what N95 masks are approved and which are are not approved >>