PITTSBURGH (100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) — On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced that it was awarding a $350,000 contract to the Allegheny Health Network.
The contract will be used to further analyze reusable elastomeric half mask respirators and how they hold up under the duress of a major crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research project, titled "Best Practices and Preferred Uses of Reusable Elastomeric Half Mask Respirators in Healthcare," will be led by AHN chief medical operations officer Sricharan Chalikonda, MD.
Under the specs of the project, Dr. Chalikonda et al. will "formally survey clinical populations at AHN, evaluate and aggregate that data to propose respective guidelines for putting EHMR into practice during times of global PPE shortages."
"The MSA Advantage® 200 LS EHMRs with P-100 filters fit roughly 94 percent of the 2,000 clinicians who received them, and of that population, not one caregiver chose to return to using disposable N95s. They are extremely cost-effective, able to withstand rigorous cleanings, and overall have been very well-received," said Chalikonda, principal investigator of the CDC/NIOSH funded project.
As N95 respirators became more sparse because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the elastomeric half mask respirators worked their way into center stage out of necessity.
And on that front, AHN was a pioneer as the dearth of the N95s became pressing.
"Since we're one of the first early-adopters of reusable EHMRs, we have a unique opportunity to serve as a model for the industry by engaging with our clinicians and leveraging their feedback and experiences to further develop effective PPE strategies," continued Chalikonda.
"To that end, we've designed a comprehensive survey and intend to collect responses from up to 1,000 frontline employees who used the masks during the initial pilot phase."
The half mask respirators have been more commonly used in the construction industry and cover both the nose and mouth.
They brandish P-100 cartridges, meaning that they filter out at least 99.97% of aerosols.
The original observations of using the half mask respirators as replacements were published last June in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
More so, the elastomeric half mask respirators cut costs over ten times per month compared to cleaning and disinfecting single-use N95s.
"We're beyond grateful to the CDC's NIOSH organizations for recognizing the ingenuity of the clinical teams across Allegheny Health Network," added Dr. Chalikonda.
"We're confident that our experience can ultimately help guide other health institutions on establishing effective PPE strategies that enable them to maximize the safety of their caregivers and patients."
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