Kent Hospital Masks Up Today For Everyone

WARWICK, RI — Kent Hospital masks for staff, patients and visitors is required starting today, in response to unspecified respiratory illness spikes.

“Universal masking (masking of healthcare workers, patients, and visitors) is implemented within Care New England when key epidemiologic markers reach predefined levels within our service communities,” Care New England (CNE), which owns Kent Hospital, announced Tuesday.

When asked about which epidemiology clues had trigged Kent Hospital masks hospital-wide, CNE Senior Director of PR, Media Relations, and Communications Raina Smith said such decisions are based on a combination of such clues.

“These metrics include but are not limited to respiratory virus activity in the community as well as emergency room visits and hospital admissions for influenza, COVID, and RSV. Emerging variants of influenza or COVID might also prompt a decision to implement masking,” Smith wrote.

CNE’s Butler Hospital had already implemented Universal Masking by Tuesday, and Kent Hospital masks for all were implemented at 7 a.m. today.

“At other CNE facilities, masks are not routinely required but are readily available to staff, patients, and visitors for optional use. We continue to monitor indicators of respiratory illness and adjust accordingly,” CNE state in their annoucement.

Kent Hospital masks: How they help prevent infections

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As Warwickpost.com reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Air cleaners (a better term) reduce the risk of long-range transmission, which can be understood by watching this video that I made. It would help to reduce risk in a classroom from a kid who might be shedding virus and is sitting in the back of the room while you are teaching in the front of the room,” said Shelly Miller, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado, whose research focuses on urban and indoor air quality, control technology, health effects, particulate air pollution, and development and evaluation of indoor air quality control measures.

But air cleaners will not prevent a sick person from coughing infectious particles directly at you. Masks protect from both long-range and short-range transmission of respiratory illness.