The Shadow
SALEM – LewisGale Regional Health System facilities – including LewisGale Hospital Alleghany, LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, LewisGale Hospital Pulaski and LewisGale Medical Center – has announced that all staff and providers in all patient care areas will now wear masks, expanding their use beyond suspected or positive COVID cases.
This is in addition to the temperature check process implemented last week.
Masks will be optional only for staff in non-patient care areas who can consistently maintain social distancing of at least six feet aside from brief interactions with colleagues.
“Our top priority is protecting our patients, clinicians, nurses and colleagues so we can best serve our communities through the duration of this pandemic,” said Lance Jones, LewisGale chief executive officer and market president. “These new guidelines apply to all areas of our patient care facilities, not just those where suspected COVID or COVID-positive patients are being treated.”
LewisGale is taking this step now because of evidence that, while social distancing is a key strategy for interrupting the spread of Coronavirus, it is difficult to maintain in the busy patient care environment. Also, the latest analysis of LewisGale’s ability to meet the demand for additional use of masks gives it confidence that its colleagues in supply chain are prepared to address its needs.
Even though HCA Healthcare currently has adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, LewisGale will continue to take steps to conserve PPE, including reuse and reprocessing of PPE where appropriate.
LewisGale is now deploying three types of masks, depending on the clinical role, the type of care the patient who is being received and the level of suspicion for infection with COVID.
• Level I “procedure” masks for all staff not needing higher levels of protection. These masks can also be used for caring for suspected or confirmed COVID patients when paired with a full face shield.
• Level 3 masks for additional protection from fluids and droplets, and for use by staff caring directly for suspected COVID or COVID positive patients, except when performing aero-solized procedures.
• N-95 respirators for staff caring for suspected COVID or COVID positive patients, and are the only mask that should be used during aerosolizing procedures, such as intubation, nebulization, bronchoscopy or suctioning.
As this crisis evolves, HCA Healthcare will continue to evolve to meet the challenges. Since February, it has been continually monitoring PPE usage, carefully analyzing and implementing the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration for best PPE practices.
“Our supply chain has continually worked with our epidemiologists and data scientists to track usage and anticipated demand so we can allocate our stocks appropriately, even as it works around the clock to safeguard existing supplies and secure additional shipments,” Jones said. “We have appointed PPE czars in each of our facilities to manage supplies in the face of oncoming surges.
“We know that all our employees are making sacrifices in this extraordinary time,” Jones said. “We thank you for your continued efforts and commitment to our patients.”
