Reminders & Resources: Gloves

We wanted to take a moment to review a few items with you. As we continue to adapt to our changing environment due to Coronavirus we want to provide you with a few helpful reminders and tips. 

• Handwashing continues to be our most effective prevention of the spread of Coronavirus
• Frequently clean work stations and common items such as handles, counters, and phones. 

If you choose to use gloves throughout your day there are some important reminders and tips for you to observe. We have attached a document here for your review. 

• Be sure to properly remove & dispose of used gloves. If you have never been trained on how to properly remove gloves to avoid contamination please speak with your supervisor for further instruction.
• We have also attached a video you may find helpful with instructions on how to properly remove gloves. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOWa__qWp6U
• Always wash your hands before using and after removing gloves. 
• Do NOT wear gloves for extended periods of time, when interacting with multiple individuals, touching multiple items, surfaces, and personal devices. This will result in cross-contamination and negate the effects of wearing gloves. 

Taking items from Patients

We must continue to collect pertinent information from patients such as insurance cards. In order to reduce the number of times, our staff needs to take items from patients we are going to ask that IF an insurance card is already scanned in our system that you ask the patient to hold up their insurance card for you to verify it is the same as what is found in our system. You do not need to take the card from the patient if you can verify it is the same as what is scanned in our system. 

If an insurance card is not in our system, please ask the patient to use hand sanitizer prior to handling their insurance card/id, you should also use hand sanitizer before and after handling their insurance card. Frequent breaks to wash your hands is recommended in addition to the use of hand sanitizer. If you choose to wear a glove when handling insurance cards you must appropriately remove the glove(s) after each interaction AND clean any equipment that your gloves have come in contact with. The use of gloves is not recommended over hand washing and hand sanitizing but if you wish to do so you must appropriately remove & discard gloves, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer, and clean your work area. It is appropriate to glove only one hand to preserve PPE if you choose to wear gloves when handling patient insurance cards. 

We continue to recommend that you use hand sanitizer, wash your hands, and wear a face mask and avoid touching your face mask throughout the day. We hope that you find this information to be helpful, if you have additional questions or concerns, need further guidance or assistance with anything, or need any topics reiterated please do not hesitate to reach out for support. We continue to meet three times each day to continue to review and respond to the ongoing needs of our organization related to COVID19. Your feedback and concerns are appreciated as we continue to adapt.