Hospitals across the country are bringing back mask requirements.
Brighton Ncube, senior vice president of physician practices and ambulatory care at Kingman (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center, connected with Becker's to give his thoughts on hospitals bringing back masks.
Note: This response has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What do you think about hospitals bringing back masks?
Brighton Ncube: Masks are essentially used as part of the whole infection control strategy, and hospitals bringing back masks when a need has been clearly identified makes sense. It's all about patient safety and a way of protecting the most vulnerable people in our society. It is a huge disservice not to wear a mask when working with immune-compromised individuals. We generally want hospitals to be safe places where patients and their relatives are safe from hospital acquired infections. Most hospitals have been bringing back masks due to increases in respiratory illnesses in their regions. We all know that masks reduce cross infections. I would think that masks are appropriate when there are noticeable spikes in infections in a particular area. Good communication should accompany bringing back masks to avoid triggering past COVID-19 traumas. As hospitals bring back masks, there should be proper communication on why this is being done and what will be achieved by doing this.
As much as bringing back masks is a good idea for infection control, hospitals should explore other methods of effective infection control. For example, there should be clear policies that when an employee has symptoms they should not come to work. That protects patients and other employees. Some employees feel that they would be letting down their colleagues or the hospitals when they call off sick. Everyone needs to know that it's for the good of everyone to stay home when one is sick. Additionally, mandating wearing masks in patient care areas goes a long way in infection control. Hospital employees must make judgment calls on when and where to wear masks to protect others. Masks go a long way in protecting both the individual and others.
Hospitals and the public can also benefit by following the CDC guidelines or recommendations as pertains to wearing masks and infection control in general. For example, the CDC recommends wearing face masks indoors in public in areas where there are many people with COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses. Masks reduce the risk of infection for hospital personnel and equally prevent the transmission of respiratory viruses to patients and the community in general. The goal is always to do no harm and to prevent the spread of pathogens.