Premier Health said in a statement that it’s other hospital campuses, free-standing emergency departments, Fidelity Health Care, Premier Health Urgent Cares, and specimen collection site at UD Arena are expected to follow suit soon.
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The news comes as Ohio hospitals work on plans to start doing elective procedures again, which were suspended to preserve critical gear such as masks, gloves and gowns. The supply chain remains tight, demand is high and donations are still being collected to protect front-line workers.
Premier Health had been sending masks to Battelle to sterilize and reuse N95 masks.
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“The regulatory landscape around personal protective equipment continues to evolve rapidly,” Barbara Johnson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Premier Health, said in a statement. “We were recently made aware that the Food and Drug Administration has granted one of our vendors, STERIS, temporary approval to sterilize and reuse masks. As a result, we have begun to bring this sterilization process in-house, resulting in faster turn-around times while still ensuring safe reuse of N95 masks.”
Premier Health employees write their names on their masks and have them returned to them after the cleaning process. Masks can be sterilized 10 times before they should be discarded, Premier said.
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