COVID-19 Resources for Health Care Staff

The following are the most up-to-date health and safety resources for health care staff working and providing front-line services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The below resources and training videos are from the Mississauga Halton LHIN Regional Learning Centre and Public Health Ontario.

COVID-19 Vaccine Information:

 

View:  Ministry of Health COVID-19 Reference Document for Symptoms

Call 911 if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

  • severe difficulty breathing (struggling for each breath, can only speak in single words)
  • severe chest pain (constant tightness or crushing sensation)
  • feeling confused or unsure of where you are
  • losing consciousness

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include:

  • fever (feeling hot to the touch, a temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius or higher)
  • chills
  • cough that’s new or worsening (continuous, more than usual)
  • barking cough, making a whistling noise when breathing (croup)
  • shortness of breath (out of breath, unable to breathe deeply)
  • sore throat
  • difficulty swallowing
  • runny, stuffy or congested nose (not related to seasonal allergies or other known causes or conditions)
  • lost sense of taste or smell
  • pink eye (conjunctivitis)
  • headache that’s unusual or long lasting
  • digestive issues (nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain)
  • muscle aches
  • extreme tiredness that is unusual (fatigue, lack of energy)
  • falling down often
  • for young children and infants: sluggishness or lack of appetite

Should you present symptoms, call Telehealth Ontario: 1-866-797-0000

View:  How to self-monitor

View:  How to self-isolate

Hand Hygiene

Finger Nails:

  • Nails should be short and polish-free
  • Artificial nails of any sort should not be worn
  • If nail polish is worn, it must be freshly applied (within 4 days) and in good condition (no chips!)
  • Wearing rings and other hand/wrist jewelry should also be kept to a minimum

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

To be used according to your agency policies

Contact: Gown and gloves while providing direct care

Droplet: Mask and goggles when standing within 2 meters of a client

Gloves:

  • Not a substitute for hand hygiene
  • Use whenever hands may be in contact with blood, body fluids or contaminated surfaces
  • Put on gloves just before doing a task and remove them immediately after
  • MUST perform hand hygiene before and after using gloves
  • Single-use only
  • Used to protect the client and yourself

Putting on (donning) PPE

Steps:

  1. Perform hand hygiene.
  2. Put on gown and secure ties.
  3. Put on mask. Wear coloured side out. Make sure the mask covers your nose and nose piece fits firmly.
  4. Pull the mask down below your chin to fit it firmly around your face
  5. Put on eye protection.
  6. Put on gloves, placing them over the wrist of the gown.

Taking off (doffing) PPE

To prevent contamination, never touch the front of the PPE equipment

Steps:

  1. Remove gloves using glove to glove and skin to skin method.
  2. Remove the gown turning it inside out and rolling it up to discard.
  3. Perform hand hygiene.
  4. Remove eye protection by taking it from the back of your head.
  5. Remove mask by using ear loops or ties.
  6. Perform hand hygiene.

Poster:  Removing and putting on PPE

View:  Best Practices for Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization of Medical Equipment/Devices In All Health Care Settings

Additional Resources

View:  Mental health information for professionals

View:  Mindfulness and meditations for professionals

COVID Alert is Canada’s free exposure notification app.

COVID Alert is just one of the many public health efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.  Its purpose is to enhance and speed up the current manual contract tracing process.  Use of the app is voluntary – users opt-in to participate. Users consent to sharing their data if they have tested positive for COVID-19. Users must be within two metres of each other, for a total duration of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period, in order to be notified as a close contact. The app is available to download for free here, or from the App Store and Google Play.

One thought on “COVID-19 Resources for Health Care Staff

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.