Baptist Health Care COVID-19 Update #10 - 4/16/2020

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4/16/2020

Providing PPE Disinfection for Community Partners


Conservation of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic is a nationwide effort.  As a part of that initiative, Baptist Health Care has developed a process for its own hospitals and clinics and has reached out to Escambia County emergency medical services (EMS), Pensacola Police Department (PPD) and Community Health Northwest Florida (CHNF) to provide services to sanitize N-95 respirator masks so that they can be reused in the field.

Baptist is using robotic ultraviolet technology to sanitize the respirators used by team members within the hospital and clinics. The process, called ultraviolet germicidal irradiation or UVGI, allows each mask to be used up to four times before it is discarded. The robots are mobile units that are typically used by Baptist environmental services teams to disinfect hospital rooms. In this time of need, teams at Baptist tested the process on PPE and found it to be effective. 

Because the demand on PPE supplies has never been so high, a process to sanitize the N-95 respirator masks had to be developed to adapt to current needs. The innovative cleaning process using the robotic units was put in place as was the implementation of an efficient and safe means of gathering used masks from locations including Gulf Breeze and Jay hospitals, Baptist screening centers and clinics, EMS, PPD and CHNF. This includes transporting them to the main campus of Baptist Hospital to be sanitized, and returning them to the correct team member in time for his or her next shift. 

Several departments within the organization worked together to fine-tune the sanitization procedure. Team members from Global Connections to Employment (GCE), an affiliate of Baptist Health Care, developed the logistical plan for pick-up and delivery and now run the routes. GCE is the area’s largest employer of people with disabilities.

Providing sanitization services beyond its affiliates to local partners EMS, PPD and CHNF represents Baptist’s first step in expanding the program to first responders in the community.