Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

The issue

I work in a assisted living facility, and I feel that we are not disposing our covid PPE properly. As of right now the protocols are if a resident test positive for covid they are quarantined to their room and have a cubby with personal protective equipment (PPE) on the outside, in the cubby is PPE gowns, N95 mask, gloves and hand sanitizer. we are to put these things on before we enter the residents room, do what we need to do then leave the room and de-gown. I think there are a lot of issues to the way we are doing this, due to how fast covid spreads from person to person. 

The issue I have with the way we dispose of our covid PPE now is that the CDC states that covid spreads through droplets, which means that it can spread to you through your ears, eyes, nose or mouth and can also contaminate surfaces, but they also state that if the PPE is not saturated in human waste products then it can just be thrown in the trash, but if covid is a droplet virus and can contaminate surfaces (CDC) like our PPE gowns then way are we just throwing it in the regular trash? we go inside the residents room and help them with their activities of daily living then walk out with potentially covid droplet all over us then de-gown in the hallway where all the other residents walk and just throw them away in a regular trash can that other residents could potentially use or touch. This virus is a special circumstances from what we have delt with before so maybe the CDC could of changed the PPE protocols to just fit what was correct to covid instead of what they have seen for years. the CDC contradicted themselves in saying that it is a droplet virus but yet to just throw away PPE in the normal trash, which is why I want to change it. 

They have said that covid in nursing homes spread like wild fire and i have seen it for my own eyes to be true when one resident gets it five more usually do, which is why I decided to change the way we do it in hopes that we can stop the vulnerable elderly from getting covid. 

fixing the problem

First I think that there should be special room or sections in the nursing homes where covid patients could stay while in quarantine, if there's not enough space in the building for that then out side of the residents room with covid should have a little plastic hut that care givers can gown up and de-gown in to make the environment around the room safe for the other patients. 

next I think that we should be throwing our PPE away in biohazard bags, and bins instead of regular trash that way people will know that something is in there that could get you sick. 

The last step would be having a special area in the building to put the biohazard bags so it is away from the regular trash. 

I decided to write the CEO of the company i work for to see if he would possibly interested in any of my ideas about changing the way we dispose of our Covid PPE. I have not yet recived an letter back but im hoping he will maybe think about possibly changing the way we do things. 

Opposing view

The opposing view just hasn't thought about or has experienced covid within a nursing home, people don't see how fast it really spreads from person to person unless seen with your own eyes. which is why i really wanted to change this, the elderly are the most vulnerable in this situation and i feel they need to be better protected then what we are doing now.