Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1273352
27 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE Nurse union balks at reuse of stained, decontaminated N95 masks By Mackenzie Bean N urses and other front-line clinicians are raising concerns about a decon- tamination system used to disinfect N95 masks amid the pandemic, according to e Wall Street Journal. Battelle Memorial Institute received more than $400 million in federal contracts to develop the system, which decontaminates masks using vaporized hydrogen peroxide. e Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit com- pany claims that its system allows N95 masks to be safely reused up to 20 times, helping to preserve the limited supply of masks during the pandemic, but front-line healthcare workers and unions have cast doubt on those claims, according to the Journal. Masks decontaminated by Batelle have been returned to healthcare workers with worn-out seals and respiratory stains from previous users, Rick Lucas, BSN, RN, a union leader at e Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, told the Journal. Mr. Lucas said the state of the masks aer decontamination has created "a lot of anxiety for nurses and healthcare workers." A spokesperson for OSU Wexner said the medical center plans to reuse masks five times instead of 20. Batelle stands by its system's safety and does not plan to update its guidance on how many times masks can be decontaminated. "We are very confident the science is sound," Batelle's CEO Lou Von aer told the publi- cation. "We would clearly adjust if we needed to, but we've seen no evidence yet that would lead us in that direction." n Younger healthcare workers more likely to stress out during virus outbreaks, study shows By Anuja Vaidya D uring virus outbreaks, healthcare workers who were younger were at a higher risk of experiencing psychological distress, a study published in The BMJ found. For the study, researchers searched several databases, including the Cochrane Central Reg- ister of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Embase and medRxiv, to find 59 papers that met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The papers examined the psychological reactions of healthcare staff working during an outbreak of any emerging vi- rus in any clinical setting. Most of the papers fo- cused on SARS, but eight focused on COVID-19 and seven on MERS. Researchers found that risk factors for psy- chological distress included being younger, being at a more junior level, being the parents of dependent children, or having an infected family member. Compared with healthcare workers at low risk of exposure to the virus, workers in direct contact with patients had higher levels of both acute or post-traumatic stress as well as psy- chological distress. n How to support employees during, after furloughs: 3 imperatives By Morgan Haefner H undreds of hospitals nationwide have decided to furlough employees as a result of lost revenue from suspending none- mergent procedures and other pandemic-related expenses. In an April 24 article for the Harvard Business Review, Sandra Sucher, a professor at Harvard Business School in Boston, and Shalene Gupta, a research associate at Harvard Business School, outlined strategies for managers to implement during and after the furlough period. Three key takeaways: 1. Managers should be thinking about how to make a "good" furlough. The authors said although employees aren't coming into work, that doesn't mean they don't exist. Managers should ensure furloughs are fair, like not pressuring employees to continue work- ing, and that leadership tries to boost morale whenever possible. 2. Early and frequent communication is recommended. Even if managers don't have an answer to specific questions, the authors say it's more reassuring to hear leadership doesn't have an answer but that the issue is top of mind than nothing at all. The information should come from a single, trusted source of authority. 3. Even after returning to work, furloughs will have long-lasting effects on employees. The researchers said difficulties that come with being furloughed, like living on unemployment benefits and seeking available replacement jobs that come with a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure, will leave returning employees with com- plex feelings. Managers should not stop frequent and transparent communication once the furloughs end, but rather keep employees aware of how the recovery plan is progressing and reassurance about the future. n