HickOnACrick

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I was reading about Sweden's social experiment this morning.

We are moving away from obtaining CRPs, CBCs, and/or procalcitonin levels in our NICU and nursery. The EOS calculator is far better as a predictor of early onset sepsis in infants >34 weeks. It is free on line, and there is a free app for iOS software. In babies <34 weeks, we still obtain CRPs and CBCs, but we weigh maternal factors more than lab values.

Knowing that asymptomatic carriers can spread coronavirus, I have been petitioning our hospital administration for the past 3 weeks that masks be mandatory for caregivers in the NICU anytime they are within 6 feet of a patient, family, or other staff member. Last week they said masks are optional and each staff member would be issued one mask per shift. I strongly recommended that our caregivers wear masks anytime they were within 6 feet of other staff, patients, or their families. 2 days ago I was reprimanded by our administration for strongly recommending masks while at work. My reasoning for wearing masks is primarily to protect staff, patients, and families from asymptomatic carriers. References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7670241 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18335238 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12009822 How many of your NICUs have implemented mandatory masks when unable to maintain social distancing?