June 30th, 2011

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Duct tape – is there no end to its usefulness? Apparently not. Now we learn that using duct tape in hospitals could be a tool in the fight against infectious disease. Call it a handyman’s quarantine.

An infection-prevention team at Trinity Medical Center in the Quad Cities along the Illinois and Iowa border, wanted to create safe zones in which healthcare workers could talk to patients with infectious diseases. So they used 3-foot squares of red duct tape to indicate where precisely that zone was located.

As explained in a news release from the Assn. for Professional in Infection Control and Epidemiology:   

“The study revealed that by utilizing this safe zone, their hospitals were able to save time, money in unused gowns and gloves, and that the quality and frequency of communication between healthcare professionals and isolated patients increased.”

Duct tape, even the snazzy red kind, is significantly cheaper than protective gear, such as gowns and gloves, that workers would normally wear to converse with patients.

For the rest of the story, read the Los Angeles Times