National Guard hands out nearly 1M PPE items in Southern Nevada

As the number of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes and assisted living centers surges, the Nevada National Guard this week distributed nearly a million pieces of personal protective equipment to 22 Southern Nevada facilities.

“Other states have had bigger issues with ensuring that there was enough protective gear, PPE and stuff like that,” Army Guard Lt. Col. Charles Dickinson, of the 17th Sustainment Brigade, said Friday at the Guard’s Las Vegas Readiness Center as his team prepared for its next mission. “The concern under the state’s emergency management section is to make sure that these are being checked on.”

The Thursday drop-offs of masks, gloves and other gear is one of the many missions the Guard has taken on since Gov. Steve Sisolak activated more than 800 Guardsmen in what is the largest activation in state history.

And the need is evident. So far, 555 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have been found in state-regulated facilities, including prisons, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

The 42 deaths reported as of Friday account for 25 percent of the state’s total deaths.

The Department of Health and Human Services posted the information on its nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website in a new tracking tool for institutions run or regulated by the state.

As of Friday, it listed 53 sites across the state infected with the virus: 41 in Clark County, nine in Washoe County, two in Carson City and one in White Pine County.

According to the early data compiled by state investigators, poor hand-washing hygiene has emerged as the No. 1 factor in the spread of COVID-19 in skilled nursing homes and similar communal care facilities in Nevada.

At least 8,496 deaths nationwide have been linked to outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to The Associated Press, which based its figure on local media reports and data from state health departments.

Dickinson said that other Guardsmen have been tasked to do health and welfare checks with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

“Our piece was to make sure that they had the equipment there, to make sure that they had protection for the nurses and workers in those facilities,” he said.

His team received word of the mission on Wednesday night, a day after Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, the guard’s adjutant general, and Sisolak said at a news conference that mitigating the spread in nursing homes would be a priority in the coming days.

The Guard’s other missions include providing support for two warehouses operated by the county and the state and running the city and county’s ISO-Q (isolation/quarantine) facility for the homeless at the Cashman Center, as well as providing testing and medical checks.

“We have a few folks and equipment set on standby ready to go out and execute other missions when they come up,” Dickinson said. “Most of the Guardsmen, they are traditional people. This is a part-time job, so for them to come on board, leave their work, leave their home and their families, they’re doing it because they feel like they’re helping their neighbors; they’re helping their fellow citizens.”

Spc. Karim Arafa, whose job in the Guard is to drive equipment for wartime, was one of about 46 soldiers on the mission to deliver the personal protective equipment Thursday.

“It was really fulfilling to see all the workers receive their N95 masks, gloves, face shields, and I think they really appreciated us for dropping it off,” Arafa said Friday. “I was excited to be out there and helping and where help is needed, doing my part to get our community through this pandemic.”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.