EAST PROVIDENCE – CareLink, an East Providence-based nonprofit network of health care providers for seniors, has begun coordinating access to decontamination services for N95 masks used in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and group homes.
More than 100 congregant care organizations in Rhode Island qualify for the free service, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Inside Scoop on PC’s Sports Administration Program
This past August Providence College announced its newest graduate program, an online Master of Science…
Learn More
So far, 30 facilities have said they will use the service, according to CareLink.
CareLink has notified qualifying organizations and distributed packaging materials and biohazard labels that facilities can use to ship pre-worn masks to be decontaminated.
Battelle, an Ohio-based nonprofit with a site in Providence that has already begun to decontaminate masks for hospitals in Rhode Island, will also handle masks from congregant care facilities.
“When you are a small organization competing for the opportunity to buy scarce commodities at inflated prices in a global economy, you suffer,” said CareLink CEO Dr. Christine Gadbois. “By CareLink stepping forward to facilitate this effort, we’re enabling people working in congregate care to focus their valuable resources on direct care at this critical time.”
CareLink initiated the effort by contacting the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, which provided connection to the R. I. Department of Health Command System.
“Working with the R.I. Department of Health Incident Command System-Medical Care Branch, hospitals were offered an alternative PPE [personal protective equipment] mitigation strategy to safely protect health care workers and patients in the fight against the coronavirus,” said Teresa Paiva Weed, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. “We were happy to play a role in connecting the long-term care community to access this important service.”
CareLink’s effort essentially cuts red tape that small facilities have difficulty navigating when trying to access personal protective equipment, Gadbois said.
“Group homes and assisted-living facilities with less than 50 employees can’t compete internationally for limited supplies of masks,” she said. “Now they don’t have to.”
