Here is an article in regards to FDA recommendations for N95 reuse.
We are using the N95s as indicated for confirmed/positive COVID and the surgical/procedural masks for all other visits. Are your agencies doing 1 surgical/procedural mask per visit, or are you operating on a reuse policy for those? Just
wondering as I work on these policies this week
😊
FDA says it’s time to move away from mask reuse
N95 medical mask
The U.S. now has a solid supply of respirators, and healthcare facilities can begin to transition from decontaminating and reusing disposable masks, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Emergency use approval for disposable masks has not been revoked, the agency added in a
letter to healthcare personnel and facilities on April 9. All respirators approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, including N95 respirators, single-use respirators and those designed to be reusable remain authorized
for use on a continuing basis during the public health emergency.
But the agency now is encouraging limited use only, preferably when no other options are available.
Among the new FDA recommendations:
-
Decontaminated respirators and respirators that have undergone bioburden reduction should be used only when there are insufficient supplies of new filtering facepiece respirators or when new respirators
are not obtainable.
-
Facilities should transition away from a crisis-capacity strategy for respirators, such as decontamination of N95 and other filtering facepiece respirators.
-
Facility operators should attempt to increase their inventories of available NIOSH-approved respirators, including N95s and other filtering facepiece respirators, elastomeric respirators, and powered
air-purifying respirators, to be used under guidelines from the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.
“Even if you are unable to obtain the respirator model that you would prefer, the FDA recommends that you obtain and use a new respirator before decontaminating or bioburden reducing
a preferred disposable respirator,” the agency stated.
The agency also has updated its strategies for
optimizing the supply of N95 masks.
More than 600 filtering facepiece respirators models have been approved for emergency use during the pandemic, of which there are over 530 N95 FFR models, according to the FDA.
REBEKAH MATTOCKS, BSN, RN
Director of Clinical Quality & Compliance for Home Care and Hospice
2715 Highway 29 South Suite 103, Alexandria, MN, 56308
Cell: 320-333-4236
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