AUSTIN, TX — St. David's HealthCare officials announced Wednesday that effectively immediately staff and care providers in all patient care areas are now required to wear medical masks — a protocol expanding mask usage beyond patient areas with suspected or positive COVID-19 cases.

Masks will be optional only for staff in non-patient care areas as long as a six-foot distance can be maintained, officials added. "Our top priority is protecting our patients, clinicians, nurses and colleagues so we can best serve Austin and surrounding regions during this pandemic," Ken Mitchell, M.D., chief medical officer of St. David's HealthCare, said in a prepared statement. "With guidelines continuing to evolve and community spread increasing, this was the appropriate time to take this step. These new masking requirements apply to all areas of our patient care facilities, not just those where suspected or positive COVID-19 patients are being treated."

Mitchell added: "While we know social distancing is a key strategy for disrupting the spread of COVID-19, St. David's HealthCare is taking this necessary step because social distancing can be difficult to maintain in busy patient care areas. It's important for us to do whatever we can to protect our patients, our care providers on the frontlines of this pandemic and healthcare workers throughout our hospitals." Even though St. David's HealthCare facilities currently have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), facilities will continue to conserve PPE, including reuse and reprocessing of PPE where appropriate, officials noted in a press advisory. Three types of masks have been deployed, depending on the clinical role, the type of care the patient is receiving, and the level of suspicion for infection with COVID-19, officials added.

As this crisis evolves, officials said St. David's HealthCare will continue to evolve to meet the challenges. Since January, St. David's HealthCare has been continually monitoring PPE usage, carefully analyzing and implementing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for best PPE practices. St. David's HealthCare's supply chain has continually worked with epidemiologists and data scientists to track usage and anticipated demand, in order to best allocate stocks appropriately, and is consistently working to safeguard existing supplies and secure additional shipments. PPE teams

have been appointed in each of our facilities to manage supplies in the face of potential surges. About St. David's HealthCare

St. David's HealthCare St. David's HealthCare includes seven of the area's leading hospitals and is one of the largest health systems in Texas. The organization has been recognized with a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—the nation's highest presidential honor for performance excellence. St. David's HealthCare is the third-largest private employer in the Austin area, with more than 10,600 colleagues across 132 sites of care.