ThinkIR: The University of Louisville\u27s Institutional Repository
Abstract
Health Care Professionals (HCP) are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection due to the unpredictable clinical presentation of COVID-19 disease, limited SARS-CoV-2 testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, and the inherent inability to distance from patients. Infected HCP may infect others including coworkers leading to a simultaneous increase of number of infections and decreased availability of HCP in a community. [1] Due to PPE shortages, many healthcare systems have faced difficult decisions regarding utilization of PPE to protect HCP and patients and the communities they serve. We describe Norton Healthcare’s success utilizing surveillance COVID-19 testing of HCP to inform the decision to increase the use of PPE during a PPE shortage in the form of universal masking. Many healthcare systems could benefit from surveillance COVID-19 testing of HCP and universal masking of HCP