and screen patients aggressively,"
says Ms. Blackwell. "In the future,
you'll see organizations develop
extended policies based on what
we're experiencing right now."
Healthcare workers on the front
lines have faced well-documented
supply shortages, and infection
preventionists like Ms. Pettis hope
shortages will be enough to change
the industry's current attitude
toward supplies and PPE stockpil-
ing. "I think there's a lot of soul-
searching that needs to be done in
health care regarding just-in-time
supply management," she says. "There are a lot of reasons to keep
inventory down to a bare-bones minimum — lack of adequate storage,
cost concerns and wanting to avoid stocking expired supplies — but
we're seeing how dangerous this approach can be, and why it needs
to be carefully reconsidered."
Ms. Pettis believes this could involve rethinking the reliance on
other countries for medical supplies and looking for areas where
easily reprocessed supplies such as isolation gowns could be used
in conjunction with disposable items.
Another positive Ms. Pettis hopes to see come out of this crisis is a
greater focus on employee safety. "I'm hoping it will become normal
for healthcare workers involved in aerosol-generating procedures, or
any procedures where staff could be infected with respiratory viruses,
to wear face masks to protect their eyes, nose and mouth," she says.
Some infection prevention professionals foresee the coronavirus
M A Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 9
• FULLY COVERED Infection
preventionists hope one
result of the pandemic
will be a renewed
focus on equipping
all healthcare
workers with proper
PPE.
