28/03/2024 2:24 PM

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How Hospitals Use Sneeze Guards to Guarantee Patient Safety

What is a Sneeze Guard & Does It Actually Work?

The most vulnerable people in society visit hospitals. Safety and virus prevention measures need to be the strongest at these establishments. The doctors and nurses who care for vulnerable patients also deserve the best possible protection. Hospital operators use countless preventative measures to protect patients and hospital workers from germs and pathogens. These measures include –

  • Conduct regular cleaning inside and outside the hospital to create a safe and healthy environment.
  • Identifying patients with viruses or other contagions immediately as they enter the hospital. These patients receive special tests before they’re admitted.
  • Encouraging everyone (patients, hospital workers, and visitors) to wash their hands
  • Disinfecting all hard surfaces regularly.
  • Creating and following well-defined infection control policies in case there are virus outbreaks within the facility.
  • Provide adequate PPE to all hospital workers (gloves, N95 face masks, etc.)
  • Install protective barriers in strategic areas of the hospital.

The last measure or strategy has proven to be the most effective. Protective barriers like acrylic sneeze guards can help operators create risk-free zones inside their hospitals. Here’s how.  

What are Sneeze Guards in Hospitals?

sneeze guard is a simple yet highly effective tool for cutting down virus transmission risks inside crowded, in-door spaces. These “guards” are basically transparent or semi-transparent sheets made of materials like – acrylic, plexiglass, and other plastics. These guards are essential tools because they prevent small respiratory droplets from spreading diseases and viruses.

According to recent studies, the respiratory droplets that we eject from our mouths or noses travel long distances. When you cough, the droplets from your mouth and nose travel up to six feet. When you sneeze – they travel up to twenty feet. In a hospital environment, having so many respiratory droplets in the air is not safe. That’s what strategically installed sneeze guards do – they stop the spread of potentially infected respiratory droplets.

The droplets can’t permeate these physical guards or barriers. Hence, there’s zero risk of transmission, even in high-traffic regions of the hospital, like reception rooms. Hospital managers work with experts to custom-design protective barriers for their establishments. Here’s how hospital operators use these durable and high-quality sneeze guards to maximize their safety –

  • They install protective sneeze barriers in reception areas where staff and patients have to interact. The sneeze guards offer protection to both the customers and the hospital workers. People on either side of these guards cannot spread airborne droplets.
  • These guards come in various sizes and shapes. Guards made of plexiglass or acrylic are also very flexible. Hospital operators can fit them anywhere they need – be it at the counter or outside emergency rooms.
  • Buyers get to choose from – freestanding sneeze guards, countertop sneeze guards, and hanging sneeze guards. These different types of guards are suitable for different locations and applications. This versatility gives hospital operators great flexibility.

Plexiglass and acrylic barriers are also cheap and reusable. Even without spending a lot, you can buy a set of these guards and make any indoor location contamination-free. That’s why these guards are must-use items for hospital operators.