Aspirus Wausau Hospital issued the following announcement on Oct. 22
Every day we’re talking, coughing, sneezing and may not even realize that these common actions are spreading germs.
Wearing the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as a mask is an important step in stopping the spread of illness and diseases like COVID-19.
“Preventing and interrupting the transmission of diseases and illnesses is critical, especially within a healthcare setting.” said Brittany Chariton, Infection Preventionist at Aspirus Medford Hospital. “We serve all types of patients at Aspirus Medford Hospital, and it is important that we do our best to protect them and our staff.”
Within the Aspirus system we follow CDC guidelines to utilize precautions for levels of protection:
•Standard precautions -minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care regardless of suspected or confirmed infection. Some examples of these are good hand hygiene, use of PPE, cough etiquette and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
•Transmission-based precautions – additional level of precautions and PPE based on disease to help stop the spread of disease. Wearing respirator or gowns may be an example of this.
We have been very fortunate within our Aspirus healthcare system that one of our most needed infection prevention supplies, PPE have been readily available thanks to our Aspirus supply chain team. When you’re protected with the appropriate PPE, you’re assisting the interruption of and halting the transmission to break the chain of infection.
These measures have allowed our Infection Prevention team to educate and support staff in utilizing the correct transmission-based precautions especially while caring for patients with COVID-19. Frontline workers are the first to come to mind when we talk about these precautions, but Infection Prevention has been instrumental in assisting our non-medical staff become more comfortable in utilizing the appropriate PPE with patient encounters.
Do your part to interrupt the spread of germs. Wear masks, cover your cough and don’t forget, most importantly, to practice good hand hygiene!
Original source can be found here.
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