As COVID-19 cases increase, home-care workers can get a 31-day supply of personal protective equipment from the State of Washington.

Bea Rector, who directs the Home and Community Services Division in the Aging and Long-Term Support Administration, said individual providers, or IPs, weren’t originally prioritized as ‘tier one’ essential workers. Because of low supplies, she added, they only were able to provide PPE to providers working with people suspected of having COVID-19.

“Through some additional federal funding that we received,” she said, “we were able to order this large supply — an $8 million order — for personal protective equipment for IPs, regardless of whether they’re working for a COVID suspected or confirmed or not.”

Home-care workers can submit a request to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Developmental Disabilities Administration or their local Area Agency on Aging.

Rector said IPs are provided gowns, gloves and face shields, plus N-95 masks in COVID-19 confirmed cases or surgical masks if their patient isn’t suspected of having the virus. She said the state also is helping to get some tasks done remotely, via phone or computer.

“Things like medication reminders or grocery shopping, picking up pharmaceuticals and things like that,” she said, “in order to reduce the amount of time people are face to face.”

Rector said much of IP work has to be done face to face — but luckily, the spread of the virus has been lower in homes compared with group care facilities. She noted that some providers are family members, meaning they can isolate themselves together.

“The kinds of services that individual providers do are vital to helping people with disabilities and older adults be able to remain independent in their own homes,” she said.

The PPE request process is online at dshs.wa.gov.