Nurses are not lab rats or guinea pigs. I am calling on you to abandon the Battelle decontamination system, the reuse of single-use PPE, and to ensure that every nurse in every unit has the PPE they need to keep themselves and our community safe.

You should understand that infection control is critical when caring for patients who may be infected with COVID-19. When nurses are not properly protected by optimal PPE and infection control practices, they can fall ill and aren’t able to care for patients. Worse yet, they can become a source for spreading the disease to other patients, coworkers, families, and communities.

We have already lost MedStar Washington Hospital Center nurse Helen Gbodi to COVID-19 because she did not have the PPE she needed. To date, more than 50 nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center have tested positive for COVID-19.

We call on you to use your powers as CEO and CNO, and your expertise as medical professionals, to abandon the Battelle decontamination program and to provide nurses and all your health care workers with the optimal PPE they need.