Yesterday, Governor Inslee issued an Interpretive Statement that provides additional guidance on criteria for determining what care should be provided, as well as PPE prerequisites for providing care. WSDA and other health care organizations are still in the process of obtaining clarification from state officials on facets of this order and will share additional information when it becomes available.

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ADA Webinar: Respiratory Protection in the Era of COVID-19

One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is the reality that dentistry must reassess what levels of personal protective equipment (PPE) are appropriate for different procedures. This could mean that some practices will be using N95, or N95 equivalent, respirators for the first time. In this webinar from April 24, 2020, Eve Cuny and Kathy Eklund, experts from the Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention (OSAP), discuss:

• Steps to introduce the use of N95 and other respirators in dental settings
• Practical tips for developing the OSHA respiratory protection program, including fit-testing, medical evaluation and training
• Different levels of surgical masks and how they compare to N95 respirators
• Proper steps for donning and doffing of all PPE

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Survey: Washington Health Workforce Sentinel Network

The Washington State Legislature supports the Health Workforce Sentinel Network to help ensure your health workforce needs are heard. Share your concerns about supporting your staff and meeting the needs of patients and clients during this emergency and beyond.

A short set of questions about workforce needs during the COVID-19 crisis are included at the beginning of the survey. Please take a few minutes to answer and submit these questions as this information will be used to help inform immediate policy and funding needs. Then, if you can take another approximately 10-15 minutes, the rest of the Sentinel Network questions will provide more detail about your workforce staffing and recruiting hurdles, common skill gaps, and other workforce challenges, changes and needs as well as your ideas and recommendations for solutions.

Take Survey

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ADA Offers Free E-books on Managing Patients, Dental Drug Handbook

As part of its ongoing efforts to support dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ADA is continuing to offer free e-books to its members. This week’s selections include “Guidelines for Practice Success: Managing Patients” and “The ADA Dental Drug Handbook: A Quick Reference.” They will be available April 29 through May 6.

To access your free e-books, visit the e-bookshelf at ebooks.ada.org and log in with your user name and password.

Sincerely,