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COVID-19 Workforce Protection Resources
Topic Collection
August 20, 2020

Topic Collection: COVID-19 Workforce Protection Resources

This webpage provides a list of resources related to workforce protection during the COVID-19 pandemic response. It includes federal and non-federal guidance, checklists, and trainings in relation to both preparedness and response. This webpage may be useful for professionals tasked with ensuring the health and safety of the healthcare workforce, including healthcare administrators, occupational health providers, infection control practitioners, safety personnel, and other workers in healthcare settings. 

Please refer to CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 webpage for the most up-to-date clinical guidance on COVID19 outbreak management.

If you are a decision-maker and have COVID-19 promising practices, plans, tools, or templates to share with your peers, please visit the ASPR TRACIE Information Exchange COVID-19 Information Sharing Page (registration required) and place your resources under the relevant topic area. Resources specific to decision-making on healthcare workforce can be placed under the COVID-19 Workforce Virtual Toolkit Topic.  

NOTE: inclusion of any reference in this document does not constitute an endorsement, acknowledgment, or suggestion that the reference is the only or best example for that topic. References are included as examples which were provided as suggestions at the time the document was developed.

All guidance posted is accessible to the public, and non-federal resources are noted with an asterisk (*). Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. government, or any of its employees, of the information and/or products presented on that site.

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Information and Training for Workers in the Healthcare Workforce: All Healthcare Workers

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Protect the Worker with PPE.
This webpage provides guidance and training on how to don and doff personal protective equipment (PPE), including a video demonstrating the appropriate method of doffing PPE.
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Emergency Nurses Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, et al. (2020). What Healthcare Providers Should Know.
This webinar, posted 2/19/2020 from the Emergency Nurses Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the CDC and the National Ebola Training and Education Center, provides information for health care providers on COVID-19.
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National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. (2020). NIEHS Worker Training Program.
This page contains health and safety resources and multiple trainings for workers who may be at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
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Nebraska Medicine. (2020). COVID-19 Resources for Providers *.
This frequently updated page includes information on use, donning and doffing, and decontamination of personal protective equipment; protocols and checklists; inpatient, ambulatory, surgical, special patient populations, treatment, and patient transport guidance; and other related resources for healthcare providers.
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Information and Training for Workers in the Healthcare Workforce: First Responders

NHTSA Office of EMS. (2020). What EMS and 911 Need to Know About COVID-19.
This webinar, recorded on February 24, 2020, explains the latest updates on COVID-19.
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Preparedness Guidance: Behavioral Healthcare Facilities

ASPR Division for At-Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health, and Community Resilience. (2023). Planning for Psychiatric Patient Movement During Emergencies and Disasters. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
This tip sheet highlights basic considerations that can help public health and medical planners prepare for the movement of patients of psychiatric facilities in the event of a disaster.
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2020). Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IIDs) and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs).
This guidance is specific to intermediate care facilities, including Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities, and can help them improve their infection control and prevention practices to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, including revised guidance for visitation.
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2013). Disaster Planning Handbook for Behavioral Health Treatment Programs.
This handbook offers guidance for creating a disaster preparedness and recovery plan for programs that provide treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders.
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Preparedness Guidance: Healthcare Facilities

American Industrial Hygiene Association. (2020). Technical Framework: A Resource for Respiratory Protection Programs*.
This resource guide can help occupational safety and health professionals who administer respiratory protection programs and includes information on fit-testing procedures.
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Preparedness Guidance: Fire Department/ Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Federal Healthcare Resilience Task Force, EMS/Prehospital Team. (2020). Interim Guidance: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Field Trauma Triage Principles.
This document provides a brief overview of the impact of COVID-19 on trauma triage for first responders, including emergency medical service, fire and rescue, and law enforcement.
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International Association of Fire Chiefs Coronavirus Task Force. (2020). Guide for Coronavirus Planning and Response*.
This guidance from 3/23/2020 provides a general overview of the COVID-19 related recommendations available for fire departments based mainly on CDC and World Health Organization guidelines.
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Preparedness Guidance: General Workplaces

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2020). About Hierarchy of Controls.
This website lays out the general principles of the hierarchy of controls, which should be used when prioritizing and implementing feasible workplace control solutions.
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2020). Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.
This planning guidance is based on traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. It focuses on the need for employers to implement engineering, administrative, work practice controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Preparedness Guidance: Healthcare Facility Food Service Providers

CBORD. (2020). Hospitals Talk COVID-19: Emergency Food Service Preparedness Plans *.
This guidance webinar includes information about dining operations, staff reduction plans, how to best conserve personal protective equipment, social distancing strategies, and detailed communication plans for workers in healthcare food service.
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Response: Behavioral Health Considerations

ASPR TRACIE. (2019). Disaster Behavioral Health Self Care for Healthcare Workers Modules.
ASPR TRACIE has worked closely with ASPR At-Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health & Community Resilience (ABC) interagency/ external partner working groups in every disaster recovery operation for the last four years. One continuous knowledge gap identified during this time has been the need for information for front-line healthcare and social services workers to use prior to a disaster to recognize and reduce their stress levels and maintain resilience during recovery. These modules are designed for healthcare workers in all settings, but primarily hospital-based providers.
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COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Task Force. (2020). Mitigate Absenteeism by Protecting Healthcare Workers’ Psychological Health and Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The resilience of our Nation’s healthcare system depends on our healthcare workforce’s ability to report for duty. The actions listed in this document can help healthcare facility leaders protect workers’ psychological health and well-being.
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COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Task Force. (2020). Resources for Programs Providing Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This document lists COVID-19-specific guidance and resources for in-patient and out-patient programs and facilities providing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).
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COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Task Force. (2020). Talking With Patients About Advance Directives During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Because the medical status of individuals with COVID-19 can quickly change to the point that they may need advanced life support (e.g., a ventilator), it is important for patients to have advance directives. This resource can help practitioners talk to patients about these documents using the "REMAP" framework (Reframe, Expect emotion and empathize, Map out the patient's values and goals, Align with the patient’s values and goals, and Propose a plan).
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Response: Environmental Health Considerations

Environmental Protection Agency. (2020). EPA’s List of Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2.
This site lists disinfectants that can be used to kill SARS-CoV-2 and has a link to FAQs.
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Response: General Considerations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). CDC’s Infection Control Guidance.
This webpage updated 6/3/2020 contains links to infection control resources for specific healthcare settings (e.g., long term care facilities and alternate care sites), frequently asked questions, and information about hand hygiene.
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Response: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

American Industrial Hygiene Association. (2020). Proper Use of Respirators for Healthcare Workers and First Responders *.
This infographic explains how to properly wear a respirator and includes facts about respirators and COVID-19. It also includes practical reminders for the healthcare workforce.
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American Industrial Hygiene Association. (2020). Ventilation, Surface Disinfection, and PPE Consideration for the Infection Preventionist and Industrial Hygienist *.
This town hall webinar from 3/26/2020 addresses questions about ventilation, surface disinfection, respirators, construction issues, and occupational health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Counterfeit Respirators / Misrepresentation of NIOSH-Approval.
Counterfeit respirators are products that are falsely marketed and sold as being approved by CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and may not be capable of providing appropriate respiratory protection to workers. NIOSH posts information on this site to alert users, purchasers, and manufacturers of counterfeit respirators.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Conserving Supplies of Personal Protective Equipment in Healthcare Facilities during Shortages.
This site has multiple links to help healthcare facilities and staff optimize their personal protective equipment (PPE), with specific guidance on the usage of gowns, masks, eye protection, and N95 respirators, PPE decontamination procedures, and responses to frequently asked questions.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Personal Protective Equipment Use Tracking Tools. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This Excel-based calculator allows healthcare facilities and other workplaces to enter the quantity of their current stock of various types of personal protective equipment (PPE) and calculate an average consumption rate (burn rate). Based on the burn rate, they can estimate their remaining PPE supply. The PPE Tracker app allows healthcare facilities to calculate their remaining supply of personal protective equipment based on current inventory levels and their burn rate.
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2020). N95 Respirator and Fit-testing Enforcement Guidelines.
These links reference OSHA’s enforcement guidance for N95 respirators and fit-testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance is intended to be time-limited to the current public health crisis and discusses allowing for flexibility on annual fit-testing enforcement and re-use of disposable filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs).
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U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023). Emergency Use Authorizations.
This website provides up-to-date links on recently passed Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs). EUAs may be issued to allow for the use of personal protective equipment decontamination technologies, amongst other things, during times of crisis.
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Workplace Policies and Human Resources: General Guidance

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (2021). Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response.
CISA developed, in collaboration with other agencies, an “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce” advisory list. This list is intended to help jurisdiction officials as they work to protect their communities, while ensuring continuity of functions critical to public health and safety.
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Office of Personnel Management. (2020). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
This site has multiple links related to federal workers and COVID-19.
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Workplace Policies and Human Resources: Management of Healthcare Workers in Specialty Populations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Considerations for Inpatient Obstetric Healthcare Settings.
This guidance provides information specific to protecting workers in an inpatient obstetric facility.
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Vanderbilt University. (2020). Pregnant Healthcare Workers*.
Pregnant healthcare workers may be stressed while working in healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance explains what is known about COVID-19 and pregnancy and how workers can protect themselves and their unborn child.
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