This sucks

[FirefighterDoug]

We just received word from upstairs that all ED employees MD's,PA's,RN's,Techs,Unit Secretaries and support staff will have to wear masks at all times while in the department until further notice. This is for H1N1 precautions, we are an inter city level one facility and are anticipating our fair share of flu patients. To say our manager is not a very popular guy at this point would be an understatement. I just got the e-mail and have only seen a few responses challenging the benefit of mask wearing at all times to prevent the spread of the virus but I'm sure there will be much more to come. It seems the CDC is taking a somewhat less radical stance and some of my fellow ED members are trying to get this decision reversed. We are also limiting visitor access to patients in high risk units ICU,L and D and of course the ER. Anyone else seeing any major changes like these with the upcoming rise in H1N1 patients.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Our hospital has radically altered the visitation policy, but that's it. We mask patients with flu-like symptoms and fever. Yikes ... it would drive me nuts to wear a mask all day!

[Larry77, RN]

That's absolutely ridiculous! We mask all patients with fever/cough or other flu-like s/s but to mask all the staff, all the time, is CRAZY! Look at the CDC guidelines, there is nothing along this level. We have kiosks all around our hospitals with info, masks, sanitizer, and tissue to help stop the spread. We also had an article in the paper and on the news to keep your flu s/s at home unless you are extremely sick and we do not routinely test for H1N1 anymore (per the CDC)...people requesting to be tested with basic s/s will be denied and only those requiring admission and with the most severe s/s will be swabbed.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Is the manager thinking that you would wear the SAME mask all day? Once you inhale and exhale through the darned thing it becomes a channel for the germie thingies to head to the nearest subject. You say it came from above.....from where? Surely the CDC takes precedence over a managers "ideas."

[coralreefRN]

Wow, that's horrible for staff. And what about communicating with patients. No one will know which masked nurse just assessed them.

[FirefighterDoug]

We have always taken precautions with potentially infected patients(masks,isolation)but for some reason the powers to be are very concerned and the old way of treating suspected flu patients is not going to be enough. This was not an idea our manager came up with to torture us, it was not long ago he was on the floor as our charge so he knows how these things affect staff morale. We generally have a very casual ED especially on night shifts and as long as we get things done we have freedom and privileges other departments have had to get rid of(music,food and fun). In the five years I have been around there have been some dumb ideas that have floated down from upstairs but this is going to be the biggest blow to staff morale so far. I will have to dig a little deeper to find out who is behind this decision and what they are thinking.

I was quick to point out in my post that CDC guidelines are far less radical and that adherence to standard infection control policies should be sufficient in most settings. I'm sure everyone will have their own opinion but I don't make the policy so it is what it is. Masks will be changed as needed throughout your shift,you would not wear the same gloves all shift so it goes with masks. I think the underlying issues are two fold and have to do with staffing and possible infection of family and others off site. I could be wrong but in administrations eyes having a large number of staff out at any one time could be an issue,I may be totally off base but its a guess.

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

So even if all MDs, PAs, techs, nurses, and miscellaneous staff in your ward got the H1N1 shot, you guys will still have to wear masks?

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

It sounds like insanity. They may lose some good staff to avoid such a nasty policy.

[LilgirlRN, ADN, RN]

mask the patients not the employees

[sailormedic, MSN, DNP, APRN, NP]

At my facility, we mask the patients and whomever presents with the patient only IF they present with c/o "Influenza Like Symptoms". It seems to me that it would be very impractical, non-cost effective and would scare the crap out of all the other non-flu patients if ALL staff were wearing masks all the time. Just my

[FirefighterDoug]

It seems the folks upstairs have heard the threats of lynching or worse from the first floor and have backed off the masks at all times order. I think sailormedic came up with the number one reason that administration revisited the issue and that is how other non flu patients would view the always masked staff and the panic it could potentially cause. We serve a very diverse community and have many non english speaking patients and waits for interpreters can be long especially for the more exotic languages. I do believe that staff disapproval came in a close second but im not sure what other factors played into the reversal.

I found out that we have an H1N1 steering committee that is working system wide with flu policy but because I'm not sure who's on it I will refrain from publicly ridiculing their earlier actions. We all have are jobs and some of the decisions we make might seem sound at the time but after you run it around the block a few times it can really begin to look like a boneheaded move. I feared we might lose good people to this decision and to be honest I was thinking of taking the flu season off myself. Since I have only been working six to eight shifts a month I could easily make up the difference with my full time outside job. I'm just glad things have worked out because I really enjoy my time in the ER and would hate to see us lose any of our people.