Implementing Respiratory Protection Programs in Hospitals: A Guide for Respirator Program Administrators

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health ; California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  This guide was developed to provide hospitals in California with a useful tool for developing and implementing effective respiratory protection programs, with an emphasis on protecting health care workers from aerosol transmissible diseases. It was prepared by the Occupational Health Branch (OHB) of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) with funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL). Hospitals are unique work environments with challenging occupational health and safety issues. Some large hospitals have health and safety personnel who are highly qualified to develop and implement appropriate policies and procedures to control workplace exposures. However, in many smaller facilities with more limited resources, the role of the health and safety professional might be taken on as an added responsibility by someone in the nursing, employee health, or infection control department. This guide is written as a practical, step-by-step manual that can be used by anyone who is charged with the task of setting up and maintaining a respiratory protection program. The hospital environment contains hazards such as bacteria, viruses, and chemicals that may be inhaled by workers and cause illness. Where there are chemical exposures, which can be measured, the standard approach to controlling exposure is to use a hierarchy of controls starting with substitution of less hazardous chemicals or products. Engineering controls (e.g., laboratory hood), administrative controls (e.g., triaging chemical emergency patients), and work practices (e.g., keeping chemical containers capped) are used to reduce concentrations of chemicals in the air and to reduce the number of employees and amount of time exposed. Respirators are used as a last resort when chemical exposures cannot be reduced to an acceptable level using these other methods. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Environmental Exposure Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Hospitals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Administration Environmental Control Equipment Environmental Exposure Guidelines Hazard Communication Hazard Controls Health Care Facilities Health Protection Hospital Equipment Information Dissemination Medical Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Programs Occupational Safety Programs Personal Protective Equipment PPE Respirators Respiratory Equipment Respiratory Protection Respiratory Protective Equipment Safety Education Work Environment Work Operations Work Practices

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• Publisher:
  California Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Final Contract Report ; Final Contract Report
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-40
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050676
• Citation:
  Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2012 May; :1-40
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, P-3, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Implementing respiratory protection programs in hospitals: a guide for respirator program administrators
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b545cf84f54617066cc956b3502e10ff5ea088edfa0268d833f56e6acd43f1c1128b5c2a6dfa20f1de0baef0330c90d2ab1d962c838c721f62e9ef7e4e2189b7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210926/cdc_210926_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.49 MB ]