Published December 17, 2020
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to make our clinical research community aware of the updated changes BJC made to their PPE. Eye protection was added for all patient encounters in a BJC inpatient or outpatient area in response to substantial increase in community spread. If you are participating in clinical research activities in any BJC clinical area, you must follow the guidelines listed below. For any clinical research activities in WashU clinical or research areas, consult your department/division for guidance in utilizing and obtaining eye protection for patient or participant interactions. For research activities in the community setting, consult your school/department/division for guidance.
Pertinent changes to the PPE recommendations are as follows:
- Wear eye protection during all in-patient and out-patient encounters.
- Goggles and face shields are the preferred eye protection for preventing COVID-19 transmission. Eye protection built into the hood of CAPRs or PAPRS is also acceptable. Regular eyeglasses and contacts are not sufficient eye protection.
- Remember to perform hand hygiene before and after touching your eye protection.
- Disinfect all eye protection with an appropriate disinfectant after each removal unless immediately discarding.
- Face shields marked as “single-use” should be discarded after each use.
If you have questions, please contact Yi Zhang (yizhang@wustl.edu).