Masking Tape/Taping Masks: Essential PPE is still in the mix
By Steve MacArthur, Hospital Safety Consultant
As 2020 continues to roll along with no apparent respite from dealing with COVID on the horizon, it’s probably not a bad idea to share some PPE-related resources with folks. I suspect that pretty much no one out there in the studio audience has the time to bolt down the rabbit holes of the interweb, but here are a few links to some (hopefully) useful resources:
When it comes to PPE, it’s always important to keep an eye on the folks at the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, who have provided some guidance relative to the use of PAPRs for personal protection. It has the appearances of being somewhat flexible in certain instances, but enforcement is still enforcement, so if you’ve got PAPRs in the mix, worth checking out.
Next up, the good folks at ECRI have pulled together a number of PPE-related resources to ensure that we’re providing appropriate/effective PPE to those folks on the front lines who are at the greatest risks of occupational exposure. If you think all this stuff kind of sounds like a risk assessment opportunity, I would be inclined to agree. At some point (hopefully sooner rather than later), when move on to the new “new” normal, our regulatory friends are going to be curious to find out how we “knew” that we were adequately protecting folks and, since they’ve been rather reluctant to accept performance data without some sort of assessment framework, these should work well within the confines of the documented risk assessment process.
Here they are:
- N95 Mask Testing Program
- Sample COVID Performance Assessment, Isolation Gown
- Sample COVID Performance Assessment, Respirator Mask
While shoe covers don’t really fall under the PPE category in general (though sometimes they can), for anyone who has ever struggled with putting on shoe covers before “bunnying up” to go in the OR, I thought this might be a good for the end-of-the-year holiday wish list (I know it’s on mine—as soon as they make one that’s portable), check out the Bootie Butler. I’ve only seen this item in a pharmacy clean ante room, but I found it intriguing.
As always, I hope this finds you well and staying safe. I figure every day brings us closer to the end of this (and I suppose there’s a certain inescapable logic to that). I hope…
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is the author of HCPro's Hospital Safety Director's Handbook and is contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.