Minnesota healthcare facilities are attempting to conform to recent CDC guidance and OSHA inspection protocol regarding the use of respirators by healthcare personnel who work within six feet of patients with suspected or confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza. Some hospitals are already experiencing respirator shortages, making it difficult to decide when to use scarce resources or conserve them for high-risk situations.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) developed an assessment tool to be used by hospitals as they determine whether to shift to "prioritized respirator use mode." This mode would conserve respirators for use by healthcare workers who are performing aerosol-generating procedures or caring for patients with respiratory infections other than influenza, such as tuberculosis.
The tool provides a chart and formulas for hospitals to use as they determine whether the hospital has a shortage of N95 respirators. To ensure that hospitals are ready to begin prioritizing respirators, the tool leads them through three calculations to measure inventory and predict future need.
The first step guides hospital administrators in taking an inventory of existing supplies, including respirators other than N95s. Hospitals then are asked to estimate the number of respirators they will need through May 31, 2010, while documenting their efforts to procure the necessary supplies.
The tool also provides a chart to estimate the number of high-risk patient encounters to which healthcare workers will be exposed through May 31. When hospitals analyze calculations from each step of the assessment, they will be able to determine how many respirators are needed when operating under current CDC and OSHA guidance versus how many respirators are needed when operating under prioritized respirator use mode.
The tool is only intended for healthcare personnel working in a hospital setting. Its purpose is to ensure that respirators are available in situations where they are most needed. MDH is currently developing similar assessment tools for clinics, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and schools.
