PPE
While telehealth is useful to a degree, when someone needs a test or treatment, this will likely need to happen face-to-face - Matt Mason
image by: National University Hospital - NUH
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Do's and don'ts for personal protective equipment
Do's and don'ts...
Do be more mindful of your behaviors when caring for patients with contact precautions. Slowing down a little bit and making sure to follow PPE protocols properly is preferable to rushing through the process, “which I think happens a lot, unfortunately,” said Dr. Krein. One way to get clinicians to be more aware of their behaviors may be videotaping them, she suggested. “It's being used in some other areas, especially in infection prevention. I think if people see themselves, for example, touching their face, maybe they'd be a little more aware the next time around,” Dr. Krein said.
Do make sure to tie the gown behind you…
Resources
Donning & Doffing - CDC
The type of PPE used will vary based on the level of precautions required, such as standard and contact, droplet or airborne infection isolation precautions. The procedure for putting on and removing PPE should be tailored to the specific type of PPE.
How Doctors Stay Safe Battling Coronavirus
Healthcare workers who treat the new coronavirus wear personal protective equipment, or PPE, designed to prevent exposure to infectious materials. Here’s how the equipment works, and why it's crucial in the battle against the epidemic.
Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health-Care Workers
What Singapore’s and Hong Kong’s success is teaching us about the pandemic.
What to Do If You’re Short on PPE During the Coronavirus Epidemic
If you do not have access to PPE at work or are asked to go without, you may have to find your own source of protection.
‘The doctor will Skype you now’: telehealth may limit coronavirus spread, but there’s more we can do to protect health workers
While telehealth is useful to a degree, when someone needs a test or treatment, this will likely need to happen face-to-face. It’s critical health-care workers can access the appropriate supplies so they can follow the proper infection prevention and control protocols.
Non medical friends, let’s have a chat about masks
So, you’ve bought yourself a box of N95 masks and you think you’re good for #COVID19. Let me tell you what my hospital makes me do EVERY YEAR to make sure my N95 mask fits (yes, they come in sizes). Watch out: long thread ahead!
Nurses Battling Coronavirus Beg for Protective Gear and Better Planning
Health care workers are among the most at risk of contracting the virus, but many say they lack protective gear and protocols to keep themselves and their patients safe.
Can wearing a face mask protect you from the new coronavirus?
No, a regular surgical mask will not help you steer clear of the virus.
Identification and Characterization of Failures in Infectious Agent Transmission Precaution Practices in Hospitals: A Qualitative Study
Active failures in PPE use and transmission-based precautions, potentially leading to self-contamination, were commonly observed. The factors that contributed to these failures varied widely, suggesting the need for a range of strategies to reduce potential transmission risk during routine hospital care.
Improving the Use of Personal Protective Equipment: Applying Lessons Learned
The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak brought to light important gaps in HCP use of PPE and implementation of strategies for preventing patient-to-HCP transmission.
U.S. has only a fraction of the medical supplies it needs to combat coronavirus
The country could require seven billion respirators and face masks over the course of the outbreak.
U.S. Health Workers Responding to Coronavirus Lacked Training and Protective Gear, Whistle-Blower Says
Team members were not properly trained, lacked necessary gear and moved freely around and off military bases where Americans were quarantined, a complaint says.
Do's and don'ts for personal protective equipment
Training is needed to break the common habits that can increase infection risk.
CDC
The protection of healthcare personnel from infectious disease exposures in the workplace requires a combination of controls, one of which is the use of PPE.
FDA
PPE are designed to create a non-disease specific barrier to penetration of substances, solid, liquid, or airborne particles. In general, neither FDA nor the manufacturer can provide assurances that PPE will protect you against a specific disease.
OSHA
Personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as "PPE", is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. These injuries and illnesses may result from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses and shoes, earplugs or muffs, hard hats, respirators, or coveralls, vests and full body suits.
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