Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk

The concerns raised in Oakland also have swept across the U.S., according to interviews, a review of government workplace safety complaints and health facility inspection reports. A KHN investigation found that dozens of nursing homes and hospitals ignored official guidelines to separate COVID patients from those without the coronavirus, in some places fueling its spread and leaving staff unprepared and infected or, in some cases, dead.

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4 Recent Research Articles Examine N95 Respirator Mask Sterilization Methods

N95 respirator masks, which filter at least 95% of 0.3-μm particles, are the gold standard for protection against airborne pathogens such as the novel coronavirus. To conserve supplies of N95 respirator masks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the masks be used by healthcare workers at highest risk of contracting infection or experiencing complications of infection.

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The Age of Hand Sanitizers

A hygienic workplace provides many benefits, including boosted productivity, a safe working environment, and reduced employee absenteeism due to illness. Here’s a rundown of the ways to improve workplace hygiene and provide an ideal working environment that is safe, healthy, and secure.

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Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic

Eighteen rural hospitals closed last year and the first three months of 2020 were “really big months,” said Mark Holmes, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Many of the losses are in Southern states like Florida and Texas. More than 170 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2005, according to data collected by the Sheps Center.

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