Joint Commission urges renewed attention to PPE

When two nurses became infected with Ebola in 2014, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) gained attention, and the federal government appropriated funds to ensure medical facilities were prepared to take care of highly infectious patients. That funding will expire at the end of 2019, but health systems must remember that compliance with PPE is part of the “cost of doing business,” writesSylvia Garcia, MBA, RN, director of infection prevention and control in the Division of Healthcare Improvement at the Joint Commission. In an Infection Control Today article she says, “Proper selection and use of PPE are essential to the safety of our number one resource in health care—our employees!” She goes on to detail the challenges and responsibilities associated with having appropriate PPE on hand and ensuring that employees know how to use it properly. (Infection Control Today story, 6/6/19)