[MCOH-EH] Mask Fit Testing

[Laurie Schulz]

Hi,

Can you please provide a reference to the CDC's recommendation for N95 or equivalent use for HCP providing care to flu positive patients?

Thanks,

Laurie Schulz RN, BSN, CHIPP-B | Manager
Infection Prevention & Employee Health
Good Shepherd Health Care System
610 NW 11th Street | Hermiston, OR 97838
DL: 541-667-3798 | Fx: 541-667-3703 | E-Mail: lschulz at gshealth.org
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 7am-3:30pm; Friday 7am-11am

To access your Employee Health Records, click here: Login to Immuware
To schedule a Vaccine or Fit Test, click here to: Schedule an appointment

Notice of Privacy/Confidentiality: This email message including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient (s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact me immediately by phone or email and destroy all copies of the original message. 

-----Original Message-----
From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net> On Behalf Of mcoh-eh-request at mylist.net
Sent: Thursday, December 7, 2023 12:00 PM
To: mcoh-eh at mylist.net
Subject: MCOH-EH Digest, Vol 258, Issue 142

Send MCOH-EH mailing list submissions to
	mcoh-eh at mylist.net

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	https://mylist.net/listinfo/mcoh-eh
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	mcoh-eh-request at mylist.net

You can reach the person managing the list at
	mcoh-eh-owner at mylist.net

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of MCOH-EH digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1.  Mask Fit Testing (Jakub Furmaga)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2023 21:48:15 +0000 (UTC)
From: Jakub Furmaga <jfurmaga at me.com>
To: mcoh-eh at mylist.net
Subject: [MCOH-EH] Mask Fit Testing
Message-ID: <f6e1be30-e74f-436f-ab1e-6cd517626935 at me.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"

Now that the COVID emergency is over, we are reassessing some of our current practices, including N95 Mask Fit testing. Before the pandemic, we used to mandate that everyone who per CDC was defined as having increased occupational risk for TB exposure (e.g., pulmonologists or respiratory therapists) and those working in specific settings (e.g., emergency departments) get yearly Mask Fit testing. Currently, we mandate yearly mask fit for the following groups: Clinical students Graduate medical education (GME) residents and clinical fellows Pulmonary, Emergency Medicine, Thoracic Surgery, and Infectious Disease providers Respiratory Therapy Services staff Emergency Department staff To complicate things further, the CDC recommends that those working with influenza patients wear N95 or equivalent when providing care. With flu season coming up, that would mean almost all hospital staff would need to get Fit Tested, which is difficult to do based on our institution's size. What are other people's approaches to Fit Testing? Are there any other groups for which we should mandate yearly mask fitting? Jakub Furmaga, MD Medical Director of Occupational Health UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas TX
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mylist.net/archives/mcoh-eh/attachments/20231205/9170b6d7/attachment-0001.htm>

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

---------------------------------------
The MCOH-EH List has always been moderated by members of the ACOEM Medical Center Occupational Health Section. It is currently moderated by Joe Fanucchi MD FACOEM.
List membership is free, but only subscribers may post to the list.
To post send messages to: mcoh-eh at mylist.net
To become a subscriber, or to change your subscription options (turn off email while you're on vacation, etc):   http://www.mcoh-eh.net
MediTrax / Occupational Health Systems, Inc. provides financial support to ensure the list remains a free resource for the occupational health community.
---------------------------------------
List archives (public): http://mylist.net/archives/mcoh-eh/
---------------------------------------
Send administrative requests to: drjoe at meditrax.com
---------------------------------------
When replying to a message, PLEASE delete all footers, and all messages to which you're NOT replying.
When replying to a DIGEST message, please ensure your reply has a specific topic (not just Re:MCOH-EH Digest, Vol 251, Issue 101) so other subscribers can locate the thread in the list archives.


------------------------------

End of MCOH-EH Digest, Vol 258, Issue 142
*****************************************