Health department orders measures for nursing home workers

The secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday directed nursing homes to implement measures for use and distribution of personal protective equipment to protect workers.

Because “residents of long-term care facilities are highly susceptible to COVID-19,” the department has “determined that each long-term care facility must develop, implement, and adhere to a plan to distribute and use PPE,” according to the order.

Specifically, the state says each facility shall develop, implement and adhere to policies and procedures that provide for the procurement and distribution of PPE to all staff by Aug. 27, 2020. Mask shortages and compliance has been a nationwide concern, according to workplace safety experts.

The policies and procedures must “at a minimum include distribution of respirators to staff providing direct patient care to COVID-19 positive and suspected cases and staff assigned to provide direct patient care in COVID-19 units,” the order states.

The respirators distributed by each facility must be National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-approved particulate filtering facepiece respirators, or if those are not available, respirators approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including through an Emergency Use Authorization, according to the order. 

The respirator distribution must occur prior to the beginning of the staff member’s shift, and the respirator must be replaced as soon as practical if the facility is notified by a staff member that their mask has become soiled, damaged, or otherwise ineffective, the order states.

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.