National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_Oct Alt 11/25/09 6:45 PM Page 6 CDC Reaffirms Standard of N-95 or Better Masks Against H1N1 n the fight against the H1N1 pandemic by healthcare providers at the workplace, the availability and proper usage of protective equipment—such as face masks— offers a key component in the line of defense against unnecessary exposure to the virus, for both providers and other patients. On Oct. 14, the Centers for Disease Control reaffirmed its longstanding guidelines that fitted N-95 respirator masks, not surgical masks, should be the minimum standard of protection for RNs and other healthcare workers. Yet surveys conducted of RNs by CNA/ NNOC this summer of employer compliance with CDC, state occupational health and safety, and local infection control guidelines, as well as news reports of hospitals claiming a shortage of N-95 masks, strongly suggested that registered nurses were being denied access to enough masks when they needed them. Masks were often kept under lock and 6 REGISTERED NURSE key, rationed, and some managers were instructing RNs to reuse them. RNs believed that hospitals viewed N-95s as too expensive to distribute freely. Hospitals, meanwhile, anecdotally claimed there was a shortage of masks or that looser surgical masks were sufficient. Employers' resistance to following CDC standards on N-95 masks, as well as to other infection control guidelines, prompted the 13,000 RNs of the Catholic Healthcare West hospital chain to declare on Oct. 19 a one-day strike for Oct. 30, which was narrowly averted. On Oct. 22, the state of California announced that it w as releasing half of its emergency stockpile of 50 million N- 95 masks, to be distributed by the Department of Public Health. "Our strike call definitely forced the employers and state officials to wake up and take the nurses' demands for H1N1 protection seriously," said Kathy Dennis, an RN at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento and a CNA/NNOC board member. Ultimately, CHW RNs were able to bargain W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G What To Do Next Tell us about H1N1 conditions in y our facility.  Are y ou seeing the lev el of quality in patient care that you demand? Please take a moment to fill out a new and v ery quick survey, tr acking the dev elopment of H1N1 response procedures in American hospitals, at www.calnurses.org/swineflu/questionnaire.html.  To read the CDC's guidance reaffirming N-95 masks as the standar d, visit www .cdc.gov/ h1n1flu/guidelines_infection_control.htm. Go to the "respiratory protection recommendation" section.   For an easy-to-read summary of Cal/OSHA standards, visit www.calnurses.org/swineflu/. OCTOBER 2009 BART AH YOU | MODESTO BEE | NEWSCOM I NATIONAL unprecedented protections against H1N1 into their contract, including access to an unrestricted supply of N-95s. The success of CHW RNs quickly extended to other RN s. During the w eek of the CHW settlement, RNs' access to N-95 masks "dramatically imp roved," s aid D eAnn McEwen, an ICU RN at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and also a CNA/NNOC board member. "Before that time, a nurse had to wait up to two hours to get a mask because they had been removed from the supply closets on the floor and were locked up in central supply," said McEwen. "Now we have an adequate supply on every unit." CNA/NNOC is still monitoring the N-95 access situation closely. In late October, the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) eliminated a prior requirement for employers to document their efforts to conserve and acquire N-95 respirators in case of a shortage. Without at least proper recordkeeping, CNA/NNOC is concerned that hospitals may try to skirt their obligations to buy and store enough N95 masks, continue to claim anecdotally that they are suffering a shortage, or even rely on the state to provide free masks. Meanwhile, registered nurses who have trouble accessing enough N- 95 masks at their facilities because employers claim a shortage should work with their professional practice committees to challenge these assertions. —staff report

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