The Betsy Lehman Center has produced two new videos that demonstrate how to safely put on and take off personal protective equipment (PPE) aimed at protecting home care and other health workers — and the people who rely on them for essential care — from spreading COVID-19.
The videos are tailored to meet the unique information needs of members of the home care workforce and frontline staff in congregate living settings who typically cannot maintain social distancing while helping individuals with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. Many workers also perform these functions in multiple homes or community living settings over the course of a day or week, working with populations that are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.
Produced with partners in the home health, elder care, disabilities and assisted living communities, the videos feature a Massachusetts certified nurse aide (CNA), correctly donning and doffing a facemask, gloves, gown, head covering, shoe coverings, and eye protection.
Because most materials currently available on the use of PPE are intended for hospital-based clinicians and staff, the new videos fill a gap in resources that can be used to train and reinforce key messages that meet the unique needs of the workforce delivering valuable care in homes, assisted living centers, nursing homes and other congregate settings.
The free videos are available in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Haitian Creole and can be found on the Center’s website, along with other resources: one page is for the home care workforce and another is for frontline staff in assisted living, long term, and other congregate care settings.
The CNA featured in the videos, Miria, generously agreed to spend a full day in an Allston studio filming the new videos while her employer, Joanne McInnis of Aberdeen Home Care in Danvers, was on hand to coach.
“This was fun and interesting to me. When I watch TV shows, I always want to know what goes on behind the scenes,” says Miria. “Even if it’s a short video, a lot goes into it.”
She wanted to help with the videos, she adds, because she knows that wearing PPE correctly is very important for her, her colleagues and the people they care for.
“I think these videos will be very helpful. It’s one thing to read the instructions. It’s another thing to practice. And you need to practice,” adds Miria, an alumna of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst who also does accounting work.
The videos are part of a multi-pronged effort by the Betsy Lehman Center to support members of home and congregate care workforces and reduce the risk of community spread of COVID-19.
“We were pleased to work on this with our partners to help fill a gap in the resources available,” notes Barbara Fain, Executive Director of the Betsy Lehman Center. “And these videos will have value far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Rigorous infection control stops the spread of seasonal flu and many other diseases that are endemic in home and congregate care.”
