Inside STAT: Catheter shortage boosts work, and risk, for respiratory therapists

CAROLYN LAVITA, AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR RESPIRATORY CARE AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL. (PAT GREENHOUSE/THE BOSTON GLOBE)

Shortages in hospitals as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are all but common now. Health workers making do with less than is the new norm. But what happens when a stopgap measure to deal with a shortage of supplies leads to possible contagion? That's the latest dilemma that some workers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are facing: A type of catheter that is routinely used to help clear gunk out of an infected patient's stuffed-up lungs is in low supply, which means that hospital staff are having to rely on other tubes that need to be switched out regularly. And for people like Carolyn LaVita, whose job involves making these regular switches, the surge in patients needing the procedures has not only added to her workload, but also increased the constant risk of contracting Covid-19. STAT's Eric Boodman has more here.