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THCA Update: Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Updated: Apr 20, 2020

As THCA continues to research the PPE request process for different cities and counties across Texas, we are continuously updating the PPE Guidance Resource page. Please bookmark this page to make sure you are using the most current information available.

  1. Overview & Guiding Principles for PPE Distribution

  2. Provider Responsibilities Before Submitting a STAR for PPE

  3. How a PPE Request Becomes a STAR

  4. Type of Information to prepare

  5. Request Process & Follow Up for Each Facility

  6. Including county level RAC resources identified


Overview & Guiding Principles for PPE Distribution

  • Texas, the U.S. and the world are experiencing shortages in personal protective equipment, laboratory supplies, and medical supplies. PPE can include masks, gowns, and gloves.

  • Production is not meeting demand, and so these supplies must be actively conserved by all users until production increases sufficiently.

  • DSHS, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and the Governor’s Strike Force are actively working to acquire supplies through requests to the federal government and through third parties.

  • When health care providers or facilities have depleted their stores, they may submit a request to the state through a State of Texas Assistance Request (STAR) by working with their local emergency management office or disaster district coordinator.

  • Providers should include data about their critical need and details about their conservation strategies.

  • Requests will be filled based on availability of supplies.

Provider Responsibilities Before Submitting a STAR for PPE

  • Demonstrated implementation of conservation strategies

  • Demonstrated life extension strategies for PPE

  • Deferment of non-medically necessary procedures

  • Exhaustion of options procuring supplies through vendors

  • Exhaustion of community assistance options, including

  • coordination with local partners and facilities for

  • reallocation within regions

  • Provision of data on how much PPE is used daily

How a PPE Request Becomes a STAR

  • Local emergency management offices submit a State of Texas Assistance Request (STAR) for a need that is beyond their capacity to fill and then submit the STAR through WebEOC.

  • STAR Requests are then received by the Disaster District Coordinator and either filled by the disaster district with resources available within the district or pushed to the State Operations Center (SOC).

  • Once a STAR is received at the SOC level, it is assigned to the responsible agency to fill, or sourced through other state partners, or through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) national mutual aid system.

  • If a Federal Disaster Declaration has been granted, the SOC will push any request the state cannot fulfill to FEMA or the lead federal agency for assistance in fulfilling.

Type of Information to prepare

  • Requestor – Name, Title, Phone, Email

  • Authorized Pickup Person – Name Title, Phone Email

  • PPE Resource Request Criteria

  1. Are you within 3 days to being out of requested PPE?

  2. Have all means of commercial procurement been exhausted (with supportive documentation such as supplier emails, invoices, etc)?

  3. Are you following conventional/contingency/crisis conservation plan as set by the CDC?

  • Daily PPE use or burn rate

  • Requested quantity of PPE


Request Process & Follow Up for Each Facility

  1. Attempt to make a PPE request via your CITY office of emergency management (OEM)

  2. Attempt to make a PPE request via your COUNTY office of emergency management (OEM). If you cannot identify a COUNTY OEM, try to identify your county judge instead

  3. Using the linked county level RAC resources identified, follow the steps noted for the included PPE Form/Info linked

  4. Upon submission, if you do not get any confirmation within 12-24 hours follow up using the contact information provided for each county


Contact Deseray Matteson at dmatteson@txhca.org for questions or additional assistance.

Source links for information referenced above:

State of Texas Assistance Requests (STARs) for Personal Protective Equipment

DSHS Regional Advisory Councils (RACs)

DSHS RAC contacts for additional personal protective equipment (PPE)