By Steve Glosson
How many friends and family knew what the acronym PPE stood for before the COVID-19 pandemic? Now the term has been thrust upon the global stage where arguably everyone knows what PPE stands for and what it is.
Unfortunately here in the United States, we discovered how woefully unprepared we were regarding proper PPE supply in the event of a massive pandemic like we have seen this year regarding SARS-CoV-2 or more commonly known as Covid -19.
The presentation below is a brief but hopefully informative outline about what PPE is and its purpose. More specifically, the presentation deals with synthetic woven fabrics and the minimum requirements needed to produce reusable medical PPE gowns for medical environments.
The latter slides address what the U.S. healthcare industry has seen and experienced due to offshoring critical PPE supply chains in search of the least cost; the reality of resuming global supply which includes non-traditional suppliers anxious to capitalize on the increased demand and emergency authorizations introducing substandard PPE into the marketplace; and trends that are being seen as healthcare providers take a new and fresh look at their PPE supply chains, taking on a more proactive role in specifying where and how much PPE they will inventory will be highlighted along with a consideration of the advantages of reusable PPE.
The final slide contains web addresses where more detailed information can be located.
Editor’s Notes: This article appears on TextileWorld.com courtesy of the Synthetic Yarn And Fabric Association (SYFA) and was shared with SYFA members as one in a series of articles designed to keep its members informed during a time period when in-person interactions have been severely limited and conferences cancelled.
SYFA is a non-profit organization comprised of individuals affiliated with the synthetic yarn and fiber industry. SYFA members represent a wide variety of organizations including fiber producers, texturizers, staple yarn manufacturers, fabric producers for the apparel, automotive, upholstery, and industrial markets; raw material suppliers, equipment manufacturers, universities, and service providers related to the industry.
Steve Glosson is the research and development department manager for Precision Fabrics Group (PFG), Woven Fabrics Division. He is a 29 year veteran of the textile industry and in his 16 years at PFG has held technical roles in R&D, quality management and technical sales of barrier and protective apparel fabrics. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in textile chemistry from North Carolina State University.
Precision Fabrics Group, Inc. has been providing reusable barrier fabrics to medical environments for over 30 years.
March 19, 2021
