Company overview

Learn more about how our vast array of solutions and best-in-class technologies are powerfully serving the healthcare workforce. 

Our brands

They say you can’t choose your family – but we did. We think you will, too. Our family of companies can tackle problems of any size, big or small. 

Our role in healthcare

Learn more about how we use our unrivaled staffing experience, best-in-class technology, and strategic consultation to help your organization succeed.

Executive leadership

Meet our team of executive leaders who are guiding our efforts to make life better for providers, patients, and healthcare organizations. 

Core values

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Community impact

Learn more about how we give back to communities both near and far through fundraisers, team activities, medical missions, and more. 

Solutions overview

See how we’re delivering customized workforce solutions that are doing right by our healthcare partners and improving how healthcare is done. 

Technology

Check out our suite of high-tech solutions that perfectly complement our high-touch approach to a future-ready workforce. 

Advisory services

We’re creating customized solutions that support cost containment, drive meaningful results, and pave the way for a more successful future. 

Physicians

See how our experts draw from the industry’s largest locums database to deliver customized solutions such as locum tenens, permanent placement, and telehealth.

Advanced practice

Get insights into how our team of APP-specific experts use in-house credentialing and licensing to deliver the right candidate to your facility.

Allied health

Learn more about the process we use to connect your organization with qualified therapists, technicians, technologists, assistants, and more.

Nurses

Find out what makes our nurse staffing truly stand out in the industry, and how we’re constantly looking for new ways to make the process smoother.

Telehealth

Tap into the nation’s largest network and deepest specialty bench of multi-state license providers to keep your virtual care strategies on track.

Blog

Visit our blog to get workforce insights, catch the latest company updates, and hear important stories from within the healthcare industry.

Resources

Get industry insights, workforce strategies, and more from our resource section. Each video, article, and tool has been created with your success in mind. 

Careers overview

Get the details on how a career at CHG fast-tracks your success and lets you play a role in helping 25 million patients receive care each year.

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Locations

Get all the details about our various locations nationwide. We have expanded our operations to better serve the needs of the healthcare community.

Benefits

Browse our benefit and wellness programs and learn how our team handpicks the best options to support you as a whole person.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Learn about the DEI goals we’re embracing to make our company¬–and healthcare industry at large–a better home for everyone.

Learning and development

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Employee stories

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Flexibility

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Talent network

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Recruiting process

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Solving the PPE shortage: How manufacturers are responding to ongoing high demand

Physician in full PPE during the PPE shortage

PPE has been in short supply since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with many healthcare facilities turning to non-traditional avenues to find the gear they need. As U.S. coronavirus cases continue to rise and strain the country’s PPE supply, manufacturers are finding new ways to meet the healthcare industry’s needs. At the same time, the crisis is driving a surge of innovation to find new solutions to the PPE shortage.

The need for innovation

“There really hasn’t been a lot of innovation in personal protective equipment over the last two decades,” says Allison Pearsall, senior healthcare customer marketing leader at Honeywell, a leading manufacturer of PPE. “There was quite a bit of revolution in the PPE industry in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, but the last two decades have been more focused on cost control and you haven’t seen a lot of innovation.”

But the pandemic is changing that. With the PPE shortage forcing many hospitals and clinics to stretch the use of disposable products like N95s, companies like Honeywell are finding new solutions to meet their customers’ needs.

“Honeywell is focusing significant resources on creating products that are easier to use, more protective, and more comfortable, and it’s our expectation that you’ll see other companies doing the same.” says Pearsall. Similarly, how can products withstand reuse? How can they be more cost effective?

Evolving today’s protective gear

Across the country, PPE production is up.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people working behind the scenes night and day to ramp up supplies and bring it to them as quickly as possible,” Pearsall says.

PPE manufacturer 3M has doubled their N95 production globally and is on track to produce two billion respirators by the end of 2020, according to Tim Post, 3M communications manager. But with demand still outpacing supply, 3M is looking at additional ways to improve.

“We’re collaborating with several manufacturers and institutions that are investigating ways for hospitals to safely decontaminate, reuse, and extend the life of N95 respirators under FDA Emergency Use Authorizations,” Post says. “3M additionally evaluates the compatibility of those methods with 3M respirators to help ensure the methods do not damage the critical filtration and fit of the respirators.”

The company isn’t only focused on improving their N95s. Post says 3M has partnered with manufacturers like Ford Motor company and Cummins to design a new powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) and to create more effective particulate filters for those PAPRs. Plus, 3M added anti-fog properties to their face shields, improving providers’ visibility during prolonged sessions of wear.

Turning to other solutions

While N95s may be the go-to PPE solution for healthcare facilities across the nation, other, more cost-effective and sustainable solutions to the PPE shortage are being explored for more widespread use. MSA Safety, for example, specializes in making elastomeric respirators — and they’ve seen more interest recently from healthcare organizations, such as Allegheny General Hospital, which expanded elastomeric mask use for a recent test program.

“The elastomeric respirator is capable of being continuously cleaned, disinfected, and put back into service,” says Stephanie Sciullo, MSA vice president and chief legal officer who’s been instrumental in raising awareness around the benefits of using these respirators.

“One of these really has an ability to displace a thousand disposable respirators,” Sciullo says. “And it’s something that psychologically helps healthcare workers understand they’re as protected as they could be. Allegheny General can tell their workers they’re using a P-100 filter, that it’s the best filter out there that science has available.”

While the cost of an individual elastomeric mask is more than an N95 respirator — about $35 compared to $0.40 — the cost savings of repeated use is undeniable. “An elastomeric program is, conservatively speaking, ten times cheaper per month because of the reusability,” Stephanie explains.

Looking to the future

“The industry is truly mobilizing and all hands are on deck to ramp up and meet the need of the healthcare industry,” says Pearsall. “You’ll certainly see more innovation in the future, once the supply is back. Our expectation is that it will continue to improve steadily over the coming months.”

Until then, Pearsall advises healthcare systems to be thoughtful as they evaluate infection prevention products available now. “There are a lot of different companies and organizations trying to make available solutions to fill the gap in the marketplace,” she explains. “Ensure that your supplier is delivering a quality product and that it’s going to meet industry standards for performance.”

CHG Healthcare can provide you with the doctors, nurses, and allied professionals you need to staff your facility. To learn more about our staffing solutions, give us a call at 866.588.5996 or email ecs.contact@chghealthcare.com.

About the author

Liz Van Halsema

Liz Van Halsema is a communications specialist at CHG Healthcare. When she’s not writing about CHG’s culture and news, she can be found running one of Utah’s many trails.

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