The Bellevue Hospital (TBH) put new mask protocols in place on Wednesday, April 22 to align with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
All TBH employees are wearing personal protection equipment (PPE) or cloth face masks as they travel throughout the hospital or other TBH buildings.
“In addition, we asking our patients and visitors to wear their own cloth face coverings upon arrival to our hospital, outpatient clinics and physicians’ offices amd to keep the covering on while traveling through our hospital,” said Michael K. Winthrop, president and CEO of The Bellevue Hospital. “We appreciate our community’s cooperation. In conjunction with maintaining six-feet social distancing, face coverings are another proactive way to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout our area.”
In light of new data about how COVID-19 spreads, along with evidence of widespread COVID-19 illness in communities across the country, CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting. According to the CDC, cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
If any TBH patient or visitor does not have a face covering, a staff member will offer a facemask or cloth face covering as supplies allow. These coverings should be worn while in the facility.
“While wearing cloth face coverings, please remember to perform proper hand hygiene immediately before and after putting on or taking it off,” said Sara Brokaw, vice president of Patient Care Services. “You should also make sure if you touch or adjust your cloth face covering you should perform hand hygiene immediately before and after.”
For more information about the use of cloth face masks, visit cdc.gov. For details on TBH’s COVID-19 efforts and an up-to-date list of visitor restrictions and services changes, visit https://www.bellevuehospital.com/covid-19-update-visitor-restrictions-and-suspended-services.