The FEMA PPE Preservation Planning Tool Guide is an instructional guide, to be used with the PPE Preservation Planning Tool (PPEPP Tool, together with the PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit). The PPEPP Tool is designed for user inputs leading to estimates of the benefits of preservation practices you may implement. This tool guide is designed to guide healthcare facilities, first responder services, and other impacted organizations in the following activities:

• Assess personal protective equipment (PPE) availability and preservation practices
• Understand and implement strategies for preventing PPE shortages or addressing realized PPE shortages by maximizing the duration and utility of existing PPE supplies
• Access additional resources

The purpose of the PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit is to enable planning for preservation strategies for PPE. The estimates of supply duration may also be used for planning purposes or reporting of this value, albeit with the recognition that the purpose is general planning, and not primarily to make accurate predictions of supply duration.

Although time for using this tool will vary based on the size and complexity of the organization and the familiarity of the user with the organization and the concepts, initial estimates are:

• 15-30 min for orientation and preparation for using it;
• 15-30 min for entering the information in tabs 1-5 to become familiar with and anticipate use of the preservation strategies;
• one to two hours for entering the information in tabs 6-8 to enable estimation of the use (burn) rate and impact of preservation strategies on duration of supplies.

Thank you, FEMA; this may assist in ensuring we have adequate supplies of PPE today and going forward. Take a look at this toolkit to see if it can help you and your team! Remember, the projected amount of time it takes is well spent if it brings us one step closer to being prepared.

Stay well, stay safe and stay tuned!