Comments on: Employer respirator policy: You can’t have your cake and eat it too

By: Robin Akin, RN, CIC

Robin Akin, RN, CIC — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:42:17 +0000

I tell employees reuse of N95 depends on length of use and proper storage: wearing it for longer than 15-20 minutes at a time cause it to become wet with moisture from exhalations, impairing its performance. Therefor it needs to be replaced until dry. I like employees who enter rooms frequently and stay for a length of time to have two masks – one to wear the other to dry. They should be stored in simple paper bags in an area that does not allow folding, spindling or mutilating of the mask (OUT of their locker!), not to wear it from patient to patient and discard them at the end of the day if they have been worn for a total of more than 3 hours (seldom happens!)

By: David LaHoda

David LaHoda — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:20:34 +0000

The purpose of my post was to simply raise safety concerns and elicit comments such as yours. The tone was not intended to be condescending, but rather draw attention to what many might consider a timely and important healthcare safety issue. As to the CDC emergency use consideration change, it is in keeping with OSHA regulations, so there is nothing new there. Of course the CDC and OSHA have been encouraging healthcare facilities to prepare for this type situation for years to avoid the possible compromising of worker safety due to preparedness procrastination and the safety pitfalls inherent in instant influenza pandemic plans. As evidence that healthcare facilities might be stretching the limits of disposable N95 reuse, check out the comment to the "N95 respirator reuse" post.

By: Vicki Rosser

Vicki Rosser — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:26:39 +0000

Do you think that people will suddenly think that fit testing of disposable N-95s is a great idea because you are condescending and blowing our concerns off the map?

See your attached 3M 1860 guidance for the reason some may be allowing staff to reuse – according to manufacturers instructions and facility IC guidelines.

Please comment on the CDC ‘emergency use consideration’ of late April, 2009 that said fit testing would not be required – it has since been pulled.