How to lessen your risk of exposure to infection

Those working in patient care settings are well-versed in the basics of personal protective equipment (PPE), donning a mask as we enter health care settings and additional protection as we enter patient isolation rooms. Through the course of the pandemic, we have learned and experienced much about how to protect ourselves, against not only COVID-19, but infectious disease agents as a whole.

We want to share some tips and reminders.

Know what mask or respiratory protection is needed

Some reminders on key PPE for select situations:

• Wear a source-control mask in nonclinical areas.
• Wear a clinical mask in patient care areas.
• Wear an N95 and eye protection when caring for patents in special and airborne precautions.
• Wear an N95 and eye protection for aerosol-generating procedures (AGP).

Leverage your critical resources

Access key policies and guidelines:

• Standard precautions. Instructions on best practices for infection control, regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status.
• Transmission-based precautions. Instructions on PPE and isolation precautions when caring for patients with suspected or confirmed infections in addition to standard precautions.
• Isolation requirements. An alphabetical list by infectious disease agent that tells you the precautions needed to keep you safe.

The COVID-19 hub is the one-stop shop for all things COVID.

Respond to concerns about a possible exposure

• Staff should report possible exposure to your supervisor (escalate up the chain of command as appropriate).
• Supervisors should report suspected exposure to Asante Infection Prevention.
• Leaders should respond within 24 hours to exposure notification e-mails.
• If you have questions about personal health or return-to-work, contact Employee Health.

Questions?

• During business hours email Asante Infection Prevention or call (541) 789-5402.
• After hours, contact your hospital’s house supervisor, who will contact the administrator on call if there’s a need to escalate.

References

• Not all masks are created equal, Asante News.
• N95 Guidance Grid, 400-INF-PREV-0100.
• ISOLATION REQUIREMENTS: Alphabetical Listing of Organisms and Diseases, 400-INF-0013.
• Transmission-Based Isolation Precautions, 400-IC-IC-0629.
• Management of Communicable Disease Exposures, 400-IC-IC-0625.