SLIDE 21 an alternate option of reusable cloth gowns. It is not 100% needed, but highly recommended. If you have shortage of gowns, you definitely want to reserve those for the activities where you would have very close contact with the residents or you would have soilage that you wanted to protect your uniform from any kind of fluids. It is important that you try to cautiously use gowns and try to preserve their supply.
- 8. If we have a resident who has tested positive and we have to move that resident to a "red"
zone how do we move all their belongings i.e. lift chair, pictures on their walls etc.? When moving residents to other units depending on their level of exposure, what is your recommendation regarding how to handle their possessions and items in their rooms, moving it all safely through the facility and avoiding contamination? As far as we know, some facilities have been moving the patient and packing up their belongings into different packages and then leaving it up until they are cleared off and set the room back later on. Everyone’s approach might be different based on facility decision. We have worked with once facility in the past that they were able to use reusable totes and they cleaned items before they put them into the totes and those items were pushed towards the hall as clean items and then staff in the hallway could move a clean tote through the hallway and then at the point that the resident would come out of isolation, you could use a similar process. With that same facility, they also bagged curtains, linens etc., considering they were dirty, cleaned them right away, transferred them like they were dirty and then only took them back when they were
- clean. The totes are a nice option because they can be cleaned before and after use with a
disinfectant.
- 9. If a facility is requiring all staff to wear N95 masks when in close contact with residents, are
these recommendations any different? The recommendation is to wear a surgical mask if there is no COVID-19 resident in the facility. If you are trying to figure out the difference between COVID-level precautions versus this recommendation, that they are already taking, the difference is that it is not only the N-95 mask, it is also the gloves, gowns, eye protection that goes along with that. We are working with some facilities who are given N-95 masks when they are working with their local health department because there are positive residents in the facility and so we think that the N-95 masks would be worked in to the red and yellow strategy and they would be really important for the isolation of red and yellow residents. Perhaps, the surgical mask would be more appropriate for green zone. In lot of facilities there is no green zone, and so N-95s would be one for all, because the residents in the facility are only yellow or red. In other words, if a resident is COVID positive, it is necessary for the staff to wear gloves, gowns, and eyewear in addition to N95s.
- 10. What type of PPE do you suggest in the Gray zone? What is recommended PPE for staff
providing care to a YELLOW Zone resident? Ideally, you need to have gloves, gowns, and eye wear. If no gowns, at least masks, and eye wear are recommended. Ask the resident to wear masks if possible. When in close contact, consider using gowns in the gray zone. The PPE for yellow zone is also the same—masks, gowns, and eye protection. If you run out of PPE, you may want to reserve it for close contact activity like changing clothes or briefs.
