Coronavirus In Pittsburgh: AHN To Sterilize And Reuse N95 Masks Amid National Shortage
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - AHN says it's now sterilizing N95 masks so hospital workers can reuse them.
AHN says the CDC-approved process allows for thousands of masks to be sterilized each day for the health system's nine surgical hospitals to reuse.
According a press release, an ongoing supply shortage because of the global coronavirus pandemic has prompted the FDA to temporarily authorize the sterilization and reuse of disposable N95 masks -- something that usually isn't allowed.
When a mask is ready to be sterilized, AHN says it will first be checked for wear and tear. Damaged masks will be discarded. After that, the masks will be tagged with a tape strip to mark them as recycled, sealed into sterilizing envelopes and loaded into a sterilization machine.
Each mask can be used twice. AHN says it hopes to eventually recycle more than 80 percent of its N95 masks.
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