Continuous PAPR area for COVID patients/rule outs?

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In my ED we have a separate closed area of 16 beds in the ED where we wear PAPRs the entire time.  The entire are is negative pressure but each individual room is not.  We wear PAPRs for 4 hours at a time, in each room and while sitting at the nurse’s station.  We go from room to room while caring for covid positives and covid rule outs.  I think this is crazy, what are other EDs doing? 

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Is your concern about cross-contamination? Or it seems like overkill? Or ?

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Specializes in ER, Pre-Op, PACU.

Maybe this is just me but I actually don’t think this is so crazy. It takes so long to put on all the PPE and take off and do it over and over again that when I was in the ER, I almost think I would have rather just put on a PAPR for a few hours. 

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

When I was working on the "covid" unit at work, I just wore an N95 all day long. Didn't use PAPR. Each of the rooms was either built negative pressure or they put in negative pressure systems, but the unit itself wasn't. I think the nurses at the ER were given respirators. And the hospital I work at now gave all staff that would work with covid patients respirators.

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