STHS mask disinfecting team cleans its 20,000th mask

‘This process, which was conceived to prolong the life of PPE that was previously being discarded at an unsustainable rate, has allowed STHS staff to remain protected during their care of COVID and non-COVID patients,’ STHS Utilization Management Head Elaine Ward said of the hospital’s mask disinfecting unit. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo)

By STHS Communication Department

It’s been in operation for only a little more than a month, but St. Tammany Health System’s innovative mask disinfecting room has passed a noteworthy milestone.

On Monday (April 27), the team in the mask lab – who use repurposed ultraviolet light machines to save hospital staffers’ masks from being discarded amid the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, and thus easing shortages of personal protective equipment -- disinfected their 20,000th mask.

“This process, which was conceived to prolong the life of PPE that was previously being discarded at an unsustainable rate, has allowed STHS staff to remain protected during their care of COVID and non-COVID patients,” said STHS Utilization Management Head Elaine Ward, who was tasked with assembling a team to get the lab up and running.

Armed with five Chargetech light boxes originally purchased by the Covington hospital to disinfect iPads, Ward pulled together a team of STHS colleagues whose work was otherwise suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they got the lab up and running in just 24 hours.

The first mask was cleaned on March 20. Since then, the mask lab team has fine-tuned their procedures here and there and can now process an average of 600-plus masks on any given weekday, Ward said, and more than 300 on Saturdays and Sundays.

That includes the coveted N95 masks, which are disinfected three times before being discarded, as well as more standard surgical masks, which can be cleaned until wear-and-tear makes them impractical or unsafe to use.

While it hasn’t completely solved the supply shortage problem, Ward said it has effectively bought the hospital time while manufacturers ramp up production of N95 masks.

“Working together with our innovative colleagues, we are keeping STHS and our community safer,” Ward said.

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Visit STPH.org/COVID-19  for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.