NIOSH: Today Is N95 Day

 

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PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment), including N95 respirators, are important tools to ensure worker safety in a variety of hazardous environments, and the government agency in charge of testing and certifying many types of PPEs is the NPPTL  (National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory) a division of NIOSH.

Each year, on September 5th, they promote N95 day to help educate employers, workers, hobbyists - and anyone else who might need respiratory protection - on how, and when, to use N95 respirator

 

For more on today’s festivities, and how you can participate,  we’ve the following announcement from the NPPTL.  

 

Happy N95 Day to all users, manufacturers, educators, and general fans of N95 respirators!

N95 Day is a time to recognize the importance of respiratory protection in the workplace and familiarize yourself with the resources available to help you make educated decisions when selecting and wearing a respirator.

Information Updated 9/5/2014

 Click image for Video

 

NOSH is excited! September 5 is here, and that means so is one of our favorite holidays – N95 Day! Once again we will be reaching out through our social media channels to bring you the best N95 filtering facepiece respirator information. There will be several ways for you to partake in the celebration, including a NIOSH Twitter chat, webinar, new infographics, and more! We know that life is busy. Work is even busier. If N95s are part of your workplace respiratory protection program, please take some time on September 5 to focus on your safety and get to know NIOSH and the resources we provide.

NIOSH Twitter Chat

NIOSH respiratory protection experts are practicing their words per minute typing speed! This forum is an opportunity to ask all your N95 respirator questions. @NIOSH and @NPPTL will focus on best practices when using N95 respirators. This is a non-industry specific chat, so we hope to hear from representatives across all types of N95-using workplaces.

Join us at 2:00 p.m. EST. We will be using the hashtag: #N95Chat for this Twitter chat. The best way to tune into this chat is by typing #N95Chat into your Twitter search box. Leading the discussion will be the Director of the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, Dr. Maryann D’Alessandro.

Webinar

This year, the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, the Total Worker Health group, and the Health Effects Laboratory Division are teaming up to focus on an important message that every N95 user and respiratory protection program administrator should always keep in mind– respirator preparedness is about proper practices every day. This N95 Day webinar will focus specifically on the healthcare industry. A panel of three NIOSH experts will talk about their individual research involving N95 respirators and how that research is important to respiratory protection programs and, ultimately, the N95 users in healthcare.

For more detailed information, go to our N95 Day 2014 Webinar page: Respirator Preparedness in Healthcare: Where Technology Meets Good Practices

Follow us @NPPTL and @NIOSH on twitter (#N95Day) and as well as on the NIOSH facebook page.

 

 

Some earlier blogs on N95 day, and the use of N95 respirators include:

MERS: A Close Shave For PPEs 

NIOSH Webinar: Debunking N95 Myths

NIOSH: 9/5 Is N95 Day

Survival Of The Fit-tested

NPPTL N95 Day Webinar: Respirator Preparedness in Healthcare

 

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A follow up to yesterday’s post (CDC Guidance: Donning & Removing PPEs), two weeks from this coming Friday (Sept 5th), NIOSH and NPPTL (The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory) will hold a webinar designed for Health care workers on Respirator Preparedness as part of their annual  N95 day promotion.

 

For details on how to register (attendance is limited), and for more on other N95 day activities, here are some excerpts from the N95 day webpage:

 

Coming Soon! The NIOSH-Approved Holiday, N95 Day!

N95 Day is a time to recognize the importance of respiratory protection in the workplace and familiarize yourself with the resources available to help you make educated decisions when selecting and wearing a respirator.

NIOSH Twitter Chat

NIOSH respiratory protection experts are practicing their words per minute typing speed! This forum is an opportunity to ask all your N95 respirator questions. @NIOSH and @NPPTL will focus on best practices when using N95 respirators. This is a non-industry specific chat, so we hope to hear from representatives across all types of N95-using workplaces.

Join us at 2:00 p.m. EST. We will be using the hashtag: #N95Chat for this Twitter chat. The best way to tune into this chat is by typing #N95Chat into your Twitter search box. Leading the discussion will be the Director of the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, Dr. Maryann D’Alessandro.

Webinar

This year, the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, the Total Worker Health group, and the Health Effects Laboratory Division are teaming up to focus on an important message that every N95 user and respiratory protection program administrator should always keep in mind– respirator preparedness is about proper practices every day. This N95 Day webinar will focus specifically on the healthcare industry. A panel of three NIOSH experts will talk about their individual research involving N95 respirators and how that research is important to respiratory protection programs and, ultimately, the N95 users in healthcare.

For more detailed information and to register, go to our N95 Day 2014 Webinar page: Respirator Preparedness in Healthcare: Where Technology Meets Good Practices

As a refresher, check out the N95 Day articles on the NIOSH Blog from the last two years. These blog posts highlight the spirit of the day, encouraging users everywhere to familiarize themselves with the N95 literature and guidelines available from NIOSH:

N95 Day 2012: http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2012/09/05/n95day/

N95 Day 2013: http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2013/09/05/n95-day-2013/

We hope respirator users will look forward to the festivities as we tout our N95 resources through the channels of Facebook, Twitter, and the NIOSH blog once again. To take part in the day, mark N95 Day on your calendar for September 5th and keep an eye on your social media.

Follow us @NPPTL and @NIOSH on twitter (#N95Day) and as well as on the NIOSH facebook page.

 

 

As September is also National Preparedness Month, it is worth mentioning that having a box of N95 respirators tucked away in you disaster kit isn’t such a bad idea.

 

Of course, having a stash of N95s isn’t enough. You need to be fit tested, and learn how to don them, and take them off (see Survival Of The Fit-tested).

 

For more on the differences between N95 and surgical masks, particularly when dealing with infectious diseases, you may wish to look a a blog I wrote last summer,  called The Great Mask Debate Revisited.

NIOSH Webinar: MERS-CoV Infection Prevention & Control

Credit CDC

 

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The folks at NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) are tasked with making the workplace a safer environment for employees and visitors alike.  Over the years I’ve featured them in a number of posts, usually dealing with safety issues in the healthcare environment, including:

 

NIOSH: 9/5 Is N95 Day

NIOSH: Disease Risks For Emergency Responders

NIOSH On HCW Work Safety

 

As this blog is as much about preparedness as it is emerging infectious diseases, I’m pleased to announce that later this week Dr. John Howard, Director of NIOSH, will conduct a free online webinar focusing on pandemic preparedness and the MERS-CoV threat.

 

I’ve already signed up, and I would urge anyone who works in the healthcare related field to avail themselves of this opportunity as well.

 

And if you are on twitter, I would heartily recommend you follow @NIOSH and @NPPTL ( National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory) for occupational safety updates.

 

 

MERS-CoV: Infection Prevention and Control

The recent emergence of a potentially fatal viral respiratory illness caused by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has renewed attention on global, domestic and local pandemic preparedness.

 

During this complimentary UL Workplace Health and Safety webinar, John Howard, M.D., J.D., Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will provide an update on the spread of MERS-CoV and provide guidance for healthcare providers and employers on workplace infection prevention and control practices. Topics will include:

• Characteristics of outbreaks that warrant investigation
• Coronavirus origins and impacts
• Routes of transmission
• Clinical signs, symptoms and treatment
• Epidemiology and surveillance activities
• World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations

Dr. Howard is board-certified in internal medicine and occupational medicine, an educator, and a prolific writer and speaker on all aspects of workplace health and safety.

Register now for this free webinar on Thursday, July 11, 2013 from noon to 1p.m. CDT.

There's no time like the present to be better prepared.