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Levine orders new regulations for Pa. hospitals
Ioannis Pashakis//June 10, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an order that calls on hospitals to create to implement new safety measures by next week to make facilities safer for staff and patients.
Comments given to the department from nurses and staff working in the state helped to inform which regulations were included in the order, said state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine.
“Across Pennsylvania, nurses and other front-line workers are treating patients around the clock in hospitals fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” Levine said. “I have heard from nurses and staff, and this order responds directly to many of their safety concerns. It ensures that the necessary steps are in place to deliver a safer environment so these workers can continue providing high-quality care during these extraordinary times.”
The order requires all hospitals:
- Notify hospital staff members who have been in close-contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case within 24 hours of the known contact and provide instruction for quarantine and work exclusion for those staff members.
- Test both symptomatic and asymptomatic hospital staff who received notice of a close contact with a COVID-19 positive patient.
- Distribute respirators to hospital staff members when the staff member determines the mask is soiled, damaged or ineffective in any way.
- Require universal masking for all individuals entering the facility except for visitors under the age of two or if the mask would create a further health risk.
