Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) For Workplace Health & Safety

Given the many outbreaks over the last few years, and especially the deadly outbreak of Ebola, many have grown concerned over the potential spread of this deadly virus. The best course of action is to educate the public about the products and personal protective equipment that can minimize the risk of exposure and keep individuals safe.

PPE serves a dual purpose. Originally developed to protect healthcare workers, PPE, when used properly, can also represent the first line of defense against contact transfer to patients of pathogens such as MRSA, HIV and C. diff.

Personal Protective Equipment comes in many forms, and when used properly in conjunction with each other, has the ability to greatly mitigate your risk of cross contamination. Personal Protection Barriers (gloves, face masks etc), Disposable Barrier Covers (keyboards, computers etc) and Protective Garments are all designed to work together to guard against infectious elements and cross contaminating. They are offered in different fabrics, thicknesses and styles to provide the wearer with the appropriate gear for the application.

MDS Associates, Inc. is a leading provider of these personal safety products designed to prevent exposure and maximize protection. With advanced knowledge and resources, it is possible to protect yourself and others in and out of the workplace.

Ensuring Workplace Safety For Personnel

Appropriate protective gear is essential to ensuring safety and compliance for all health care workers. Disposable Isolation Barrier Gowns are the base for any protective equipment. Our gowns provide the added benefit of innovative knit cuffs coupled with a thumb loop to prevent sleeve  rise and exposing your skin. The most common gowns used have back panels that wearers slide into and adjust/tie but over-the-head gowns are typically used in emergency situations.

Protective gowns are offered in different fluid-resistant fabrics such as spunbond polypropylene, polyethylene, SMS/multi-ply, PE-coated, spunlace and microporous laminate. The fabrics used can range in protection from basic or routine contamination control, to high-risk, high-level infection control for the maximum protection against exposure. Many hospitals are now requiring that their healthcare providers use gowns that conform to AAMI PB70 Guidelines. Under AAMI Guidelines, protective apparel must meet minimum performance standards for strength, barrier protection and fluid resistance to ensure the safety of healthcare workers and patients from microbial contamination. Isolation type barrier gowns are often accompanied with disposable gloves, shoe covers, shoe covers and bouffant caps.

When working with high-level infectious or hazardous agents where chemicals or permeation is a concern, operators may wear limited-use chemical or encapsulated suits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and OSHA have defined four levels of chemical protection based on chemical suit designs as Level A, Level B, Level C and Level D. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has developed standards that include NFPA 1991 for Vapor-Protective Ensemble and NFPA 1992 for Liquid Splash-Protective Ensemebles for Hazardous Emergencies. Typically limited-use chemical-resistant suits are worn along with respirators, heavy gauge chemical-resistant neoprene gloves or butyl gloves and chemical-resistant boots or booties.