outpatient centers were asked to develop plans for possible
conversion to COVID-19 bed use and anesthesia machines for
the purpose of ventilating patients. PPE was to be preserved
and in certain regions, sent to hospitals for front line staff to
use during care of infected patients.
●Additional
COVID-19 Related Issues including:
§ Healthcare worker well-being: post-traumatic
stress, work hours.
§ Patient messaging and communication.
§ Case scheduling process.
§ Facility and OR/procedural safety for patients.
§ Preoperative testing process for COVID-19-positive
and non-COVID-19-positive patients.
§ Environmental cleaning.
§ Prior to implementing the start-up of any invasive
procedure, all areas should be terminally cleaned
according to evidence-based information.
§ In all areas along five phases of care (e.g. clinic,
preoperative and OR/procedural areas, workrooms,
pathology-frozen, recovery room, patient areas, ICU,
ventilators, scopes, sterile processing, etc.)
www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com • may 2020
Epidemiology
Manufacturing and Regulatory/Compliance
prevention-driven
prevention-driven
SUBMISSIONS
WANTED
Healthcare Hygiene magazine, a new monthly
publication uniting infection prevention-driven
stakeholders in the quest for clean, invites
you to submit to us your articles addressing
evidence-based practices. Articles should be
robustly scientific and non-commercial in nature.
For submissions guidelines, send an inquiry to:
[email protected]
We are building bridges between Infection
Prevention/Epidemiology, Scientific R&D,
Manufacturing and Regulatory/Compliance through
a comprehensive online and digital platform.
Manufacturing and Regulatory/Compliance
Prevention/Epidemiology
evidence-
based
practices
Scientific R&D
Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, is president of Infection
Control Consulting Services.
●Timing
for Reopening of Elective Surgery – Reopening
should be considered only after a sustained reduction in the
rate of new COVID-19 cases in the relevant geographic area
for at least 14 days.
●COVID-19
Testing within a Facility – Facilities should
use available testing to protect staff and patient safety
whenever possible and should implement a policy addressing
requirements and frequency for patient and staff testing.
●Personal
Protective Equipment – Facilities should not
resume elective surgical procedures until they have adequate
PPE and medical/surgical supplies appropriate to the number
and type of procedures to be performed.
●Case
Prioritization and Scheduling – Facilities should
establish a prioritization policy committee consisting of
surgery, anesthesia and nursing leadership to develop
a prioritization strategy appropriate to the immediate
patient needs.
●Post-COVID-19
Issues for the Five Phases of Surgical
Care – Facilities should adopt policies addressing care issues
specific to postponement of surgical scheduling related
to COVID-19
●Collection
and Management of Data – Facilities should
reevaluate and reassess policies and procedures frequently,
based on COVID-19 related data, resources, testing and
other clinical information.
●COVID-related
Safety and Risk Mitigation surrounding
Second Wave – Facilities should have and implement a social
distancing policy for staff, patients and patient visitors in
non-restricted areas in the facility which meets then-current
local and national recommendations for community
isolation practices.
Pandemics are like natural disasters; their timing and
magnitude is unpredictable. COVID-19 arrived precipitously,
spread rapidly and quickly overwhelmed the nation. History
has proven that respiratory viruses don’t disappear and often
linger for a few years or an effective vaccine is developed.
H1N1 in 2009 lingered for approximately three years. A
vaccine was developed and was introduced as a component
of the annual flu. COVID-19 vaccine development has begun,
but the outcomes remain unknown at this juncture.
The “new normal” is beginning to take shape. Facilities
across the continuum of care are working through the
challenges of realigning compromised infection prevention
“best practices. Patient safety and prevention of transmission
of hospital-acquired conditions, while temporarily disrupted,
remains unchanged.
Healthcare professionals have spent decades improving
hand hygiene, disinfecting the environment, appropriate
isolation of potentially transmissible patients and more.
These “best practices” will require reeducation and training
sooner than later as healthcare services resume.
Roadmap for Resuming Elective Surgery After
COVID-19 Pandemic
In late April, a joint statement was released by the
American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthe-
siologists, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses and
the American Hospital Association. The following is a list to
guide surgery centers and hospitals for resuming procedures:
§ Regulatory issues (The Joint Commission,
CMS, CDC).
§ Operating/procedural rooms must meet engi-
neering and Facility Guideline Institute standards
for air exchanges.
§ Re-engineering, testing and cleaning
Infection
Prevention
Join this vibrant
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