State Encourages Hospitals,
Healthcare Facilities to Utilize Free PPE Decontamination System
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[August 03, 2020]
To address the critical need for
personal protective equipment (PPE), the State of Illinois has
procured technology capable of decontaminating PPE for reuse in the
fight against COVID-19. This is a free service that will safely
stretch our critical PPE for frontline workers.
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Effective immediately, workers in hospitals,
nursing homes, clinics and other frontline occupations should begin
saving unsoiled N95 masks for decontamination right away. A Battelle
Critical Decontamination System has been established in Waukegan to
address this immediate need.
The machine, which can decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 masks per day,
is authorized by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators for healthcare
personnel. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
fully funds the production, deployment and operation of these
systems, so no operating or service fee is required to use the
system.
For months now, states throughout the country have been battling a
broken supply chain and great demand for N95 masks in order to
protect our essential frontline workers, said IEMA Director Alicia
Tate-Nadeau. The implementation of the Battelle Critical Care
Decontamination System is a lifeline at a critical juncture of the
COVID-19 response. I encourage all hospitals and healthcare
facilities to utilize this free service to safely extend the life of
your PPE.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency contracted with Battelle for
60 machines and then accepted applications from the states to
determine who received the service based on need.
The machine uses concentrated vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to
decontaminate thousands of N95 respirators at a time in order for
healthcare and other frontline workers to safely reuse them. The
process removes all biological contaminants, including the viruses
responsible for SARS and COVID-19. Masks can be decontaminated up to
20 times without degrading their performance.
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To participate, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and
other facilities with health care workers who wear N95 masks must
enroll at www.battelle.org/decon. Once enrolled, each institution
will be responsible for collecting unsoiled used masks and making
sure they are labeled with a facility code and name of the mask
user.
FedEx and Cardinal Health are providing end-to-end logistic support
at no costs. These organizations will collect used masks from
participating agencies and transport them to the Battelle site, then
return the decontaminated masks to the facility, which will return
them to individual users.
The following makes and models of N95 masks can be decontaminated:
3M Models:
VFLEX 1804
1860(S)
Aura 1870+
8205
8000
8210
9010
Aura 9210+
Gerson Models:
1730
2140C
Moldex Models:
1500 Series
2200
Kimberly Clark Models:
46727
Additional information about the Battelle Decontamination System,
including how to register for this service, can be found at
Ready.Illinois.gov.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information] |