Post by chrismccainuw on Apr 1, 2020 12:15:16 GMT -8
Hi all,
See below for how some teams are using PPE with their medical staff. Let us know how your team is doing things!:
It may be hard to develop a standard for all ACT teams since there is likely a lot of regional variability of access to PPE, and there needs to be careful considerations for both the individual provider and client risks for COVID-19 exposure.
As an example, for one North Carolina ACT team, they have separated their clients into 3 risk groups, and they have 3 providers giving IM injections.
Group 1: The “walk-in” and unsheltered/homeless group that tend to self-present to the ACT office. The RN stationed here wears a N95 mask and gloves, gives some clients a surgical mask to wear based on symptoms (some have chronic coughs for example). This RN also has some underlying health issues that increase risk to COVID-19.
Group 2: Non-high risk clients who live in the community. This RN stays in the field, does not go to the office to reduce exposure to Group 1 nurse. She also wears N-95 and gloves. She gets a clean box every morning with her IMs, med packs, orders, MARs, etc. Her clean and dirty bins are collected at the end of the day.
Group 3: High risk clients who live in ALFs, SNFs, high density public housing complexes are visited by the ACT MD who wears N-95 mask, gown, hairnet, booties, gloves to administer IMs, hand out meds and conduct client visits.
Important principles are for providers to be working with separate groups of clients, for the providers to not overlap/interact physically, to triage the clients into different risk groups, and for all to be wearing masks. This team has N-95 masks available and so they use them, although I think a regular surgical mask is acceptable in the absence of N-95 unless there is known COVID-19 positivity or a suspected COVID-19 case.
See below for how some teams are using PPE with their medical staff. Let us know how your team is doing things!:
It may be hard to develop a standard for all ACT teams since there is likely a lot of regional variability of access to PPE, and there needs to be careful considerations for both the individual provider and client risks for COVID-19 exposure.
As an example, for one North Carolina ACT team, they have separated their clients into 3 risk groups, and they have 3 providers giving IM injections.
Group 1: The “walk-in” and unsheltered/homeless group that tend to self-present to the ACT office. The RN stationed here wears a N95 mask and gloves, gives some clients a surgical mask to wear based on symptoms (some have chronic coughs for example). This RN also has some underlying health issues that increase risk to COVID-19.
Group 2: Non-high risk clients who live in the community. This RN stays in the field, does not go to the office to reduce exposure to Group 1 nurse. She also wears N-95 and gloves. She gets a clean box every morning with her IMs, med packs, orders, MARs, etc. Her clean and dirty bins are collected at the end of the day.
Group 3: High risk clients who live in ALFs, SNFs, high density public housing complexes are visited by the ACT MD who wears N-95 mask, gown, hairnet, booties, gloves to administer IMs, hand out meds and conduct client visits.
Important principles are for providers to be working with separate groups of clients, for the providers to not overlap/interact physically, to triage the clients into different risk groups, and for all to be wearing masks. This team has N-95 masks available and so they use them, although I think a regular surgical mask is acceptable in the absence of N-95 unless there is known COVID-19 positivity or a suspected COVID-19 case.