As the number of COVID-19 patients continues to decline throughout St. Joseph’s Health, we are transitioning away from crisis strategies and processes that were implemented to ensure our supply of respiratory protection during the pandemic. Effectively immediately, we will amend reuse and extended-use processes for N95 respirators as follows:
St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center and Ambulatory Sites:
- Discontinue extended use and reuse of N95 respirators.
- Discard N95 respirators after each patient encounter.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center:
- Continue extended use only. This is due to state-mandated protocols on screening and isolation/quarantine, the nature of patient care/encounters by staff, and N95 respirator usage.
- Once an N95 is removed, it should be discarded. However, with extended use, an N95 respirator may be worn for a prolonged period, for multiple patient contacts, before being removed and discarded.
- No need to store in paper bag.
We will continue to monitor guidelines from the New Jersey Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as recommendations can change depending on COVID activity and supply availability. Please email the COVID 19 mailbox with any related questions. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation.