- All dialysis facilities should be in close contact with their local health department in order to keep the most up to date CDC protocols
- Additionally, staying in contact with local health departments also provides information regarding local infections for facilities in order to determine level of PPE turnover and allocation of resources
- Dialysis facilities should also be in close contact with the American Society of Nephrology’s COVID-19 response team in order to have the most up to date guidelines regarding patient care


Ohio State University, Columbus

- This paper provides some general guidelines which should be in place for dialysis facilities during the pandemic which have been provided by the American Society of Nephrology
- Some of the areas of care which this paper touches on include patient screening and placement, protection protocol for staff and patients, as well as communicative measures for these facilities to take


Mitigating Risk of COVID-19 in Dialysis Facilities

Kliger, A. S., & Silberzweig, J. (2020). Mitigating Risk of COVID-19 in Dialysis Facilities. Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN, 15(5), 707–709. https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.03340320

URL: https://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/clinjasn/15/5/707.full.pdf?casa_token=xMHcmtY_dbsAAAAA%3AzDDpbQwNkv99PNHXzUp4U0WGLuWJu1dkj0WmCdk8tLu0EhQYr3iTY04QzKv_W6d5aIv2r1YJ9bezvrSW

- Generally, all incoming patients should be screened through 1 entry point and asked a standardized set of questions to determine possibility of infection
- All patients who show any signs of COVID-19 or have been in contact with someone with the virus should be turned away temporarily for testing
- In order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in those who may have been exposed without knowledge, it is advised that patients be contained in singular rooms per patient and with a closing door


Patient Screening and Placement

- Dialysis staff should always have standard droplet protective equipment on when interacting with patients
- Care and policies should be established to prolong the life of PPE in order to preserve the limited supply for as long as possible
- Eye protection should be used by staff at all times while interacting with patients and should be cleaned and disinfected between shifts
- Isolation gowns should be worn at all times when interacting with patients to perform dialysis as well as during post dialysis cleaning and disinfection
- Dialysis stations should regularly be disinfected after every patient in order to protect incoming patients


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