Makrite NIOSH certified N95 respirators by SPH Medical Inc
CategoriesInfection Prevention

Makrite N95 Masks for Healthcare Worker Safety

Fortifying the Frontline: Why Makrite N95 Masks Are Essential

As flu season approaches and new respiratory virus strains emerge, the risk to frontline healthcare workers intensifies. For nurses and other clinical staff, the daily environment is one of constant exposure, making personal protective equipment (PPE) the most fundamental line of defense. In this high-stakes setting, not all protection is created equal. Proven, high-quality respiratory protection is paramount.

This article will reinforce the critical importance of NIOSH-approved N95 respirators in protecting hospital staff from airborne threats. We will detail why Makrite N95 masks are a trusted and superior choice for infection control, highlighting their specific features, reliable performance, and indispensable role in a comprehensive facility safety program. In an environment of evolving respiratory threats, providing consistent access to reliable PPE like Makrite N95 masks is a non-negotiable component of ensuring healthcare worker safety and maintaining hospital operational readiness.

The Escalating Threat: Respiratory Viruses in Healthcare

The fall and winter months present a perfect storm of respiratory illnesses. The convergence of seasonal influenza, new COVID-19 variants, and other pathogens creates a complex and dangerous landscape, particularly within the walls of a hospital.

A Perfect Storm of Pathogens

Healthcare facilities are epicenters for airborne transmission. The close proximity to infected patients, combined with frequent aerosol-generating procedures, creates a high-risk environment for the spread of respiratory viruses. For nurses, physical therapists, and other direct care providers, every patient interaction carries a potential risk of exposure. As new virus strains emerge, often with unknown transmissibility or severity, the need for uncompromising protection becomes even more urgent. Protecting staff is not just about individual well-being; it is essential for preventing facility-wide outbreaks and ensuring the continuity of patient care.

The Unwavering Importance of NIOSH-Approved N95s

In this context, it is crucial to understand the difference between standard surgical masks and N95 respirators. While surgical masks can prevent the spread of larger droplets from the wearer, they do not provide a secure seal or filter out the smaller airborne particles that transmit diseases like influenza and COVID-19.

NIOSH-approved N95 respirators are the gold standard for respiratory protection. The “N95” designation signifies that the respirator filters at least 95% of airborne particles. More importantly, they are designed to form a tight seal against the face.  A proper fit ensures that inhaled air is drawn through the filter material rather than leaking in around the edges. Guidelines from both the CDC and OSHA mandate the use of N95 respirators for healthcare workers exposed to airborne infectious agents, confirming their status as essential safety equipment.

Why Makrite N95 Masks Are the Gold Standard

Among NIOSH-approved options, Makrite N95 masks stand out as a superior choice for protection, reliability, and user compliance. Their design and construction reflect a deep understanding of the needs of frontline healthcare professionals.

Uncompromising Filtration and a Secure SealMakrite N95 masks are NIOSH certified for safety

The core function of an N95 respirator is protection, and Makrite delivers with uncompromising quality. The masks are constructed with high-quality, electrostatically charged filter material that meets and often exceeds NIOSH standards for particulate filtration.

However, filtration is only effective if the mask fits properly. Makrite has engineered its masks to provide a secure and reliable seal across a wide range of face shapes and sizes. Features like a durable, adjustable nosepiece and strong, comfortable head straps allow for a customized fit that minimizes leakage. For any hospital, ensuring a proper fit through qualitative or quantitative fit testing is a critical step in a respiratory protection program. And Makrite’s design facilitates this process, increasing the likelihood of a successful seal for more of your staff.

Designed for All-Day Comfort and Wearability

For an N95 mask to be effective, it must be worn consistently and correctly. A common barrier to compliance is discomfort, especially during long 12-hour shifts. Makrite addresses this head-on with features designed to enhance comfort and wearability.Makrite N95 masks offer comfort and safety

The masks are remarkably lightweight, reducing facial fatigue over extended periods. A soft inner lining prevents skin irritation, while the overall construction is designed to be breathable. This design reduces the buildup of heat and moisture inside the mask. These thoughtful design elements make a significant difference for the end-user. A comfortable mask is a mask that will be worn properly, ensuring that the protection it offers is never compromised. This focus on user experience is key to driving compliance throughout your facility.

Integrating Makrite N95 Masks into Your Safety Protocol

Having the right equipment is only part of the solution. A successful safety strategy involves a reliable supply chain and integrating the use of N95s into a broader infection control program.

Ensuring a Reliable Supply Chain

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical vulnerability of PPE supply chains. Hospitals cannot afford to face shortages of essential equipment. Partnering with a dependable supplier is crucial for preparedness. Makrite has a proven track record of supply chain stability, providing facilities with the confidence that they can secure the inventory needed to protect their staff throughout the entire flu and winter season.

The Role of N95s in a Multi-Faceted Strategy

Makrite N95 masks are a cornerstone of a comprehensive infection control strategy, but they work best in conjunction with other measures. These include rigorous hand hygiene protocols, consistent environmental cleaning and disinfection, and proper ventilation.

Furthermore, ongoing staff education and training are essential. This includes initial and annual fit testing to ensure every employee has a respirator with a proper seal.  And also training on the correct procedures for donning and doffing PPE to prevent self-contamination. By embedding the use of Makrite N95s within this multi-faceted approach, as recommended by organizations like the CDC and WHO, hospitals can create a robust defense against respiratory threats.

As we face another challenging respiratory virus season, protecting our frontline healthcare workers is paramount. They are the most valuable asset in our healthcare system. Makrite N95 masks provide the proven, reliable, and comfortable protection necessary to keep staff safe. Makrite N95’s also reduce viral transmission within facilities, and ensure the unwavering continuity of patient care. Providing this level of protection is a direct investment in the safety and well-being of your team and the patients they serve.

Don’t wait for the winter surge. Fortify your infection control strategy and protect your staff by securing your supply of trusted Makrite N95 masks.

CategoriesInfection Prevention

Finding a Trusted Supplier for N95 Facemasks

CDC Recommended N95 Facemasks

The pandemic has brought a lot of changes to the healthcare industry. From increased patient loads to shortages of medical supplies, there are many uncertainties are going into the future. One very specific medical supply that has got a lot of press lately is the N95 Facemasks.

The CDC has recommended this particular facemask as the most effective protective measure against the novel coronavirus. For this reason, the demand for the N95 Mask has skyrocketed in the healthcare, industrial, manufacturing, and general business industries. As with any sort of change in the level of demand, there are always people looking to capitalize. Unfortunately, this is wreaking havoc on the healthcare industry.

Having A Trusted Supplier Is More Important Than Ever Before

As the demand for these masks increases, more companies are trying to create distribution contracts with medical, industrial, manufacturing, and other business customers. Regrettably, not all of these distributors have the best interests of the end-users in mind. Many facilities don’t check to verify the legitimacy of these masks from unreputable distributors.

SPH Medical has been working with Makrite Industries, a company producing NIOSH N95 Masks and other similar products, for over 30 years. SPH Medical is an authorized global distributor that works directly with our supplier to bring healthcare, industrial, and manufacturing companies NIOSH certified masks. Currently, the Makrite N95 Mask is our most popular selling N95 respirator.

The Makrite Model 9500-N95 Respirator

The Makrite model 9500-N95 respirator is a vital piece of safety equipment for healthcare workers and other essential workers across the world. This mask has been in shortage since the coronavirus reached our shores earlier this year. Now there are many new entrants to the industry as new start up manufacturers race to produce N95 facemasks to meet the increasing market demand. Existing manufacturers like 3M and Makrite have implemented plans to produce masks at higher volumes than ever before.

Unfortunately, this ramping up of manufacturing takes time to implement and is often hampered by COVID-19 virus outbreaks causing manufacturing to be shut down. What was once thought of as a disposable mask that was to be thrown away after each patient interaction has become an all-day form of protection. Many healthcare facilities are still facing major shortages that require their staff members to use the same disposable mask for multiple patients. Some have been even instructed to keep using the mask until it’s visibly dirty or broken. SPH Medical is here to solve this crisis and is working to get N95 Masks into the hands of all frontline caregivers.

No Defense Production Act Order

As the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting record numbers, the former President utilized the Defense Production Act to remedy the nation’s shortage of ventilators. This Defense Production Act allows the President to order companies to manufacture products that are in short supply. The pre-pandemic ventilator manufacturers shared their trade secrets with these new manufacturers in an effort to enhance the supply of ventilators.

Since the Defense Production Act worked to eliminate the shortage of ventilators, many believe it should be used to remedy the NIOSH N95 Mask shortage. However, so far, President Trump has not enacted the Act. Rather, his party has overseen the scaling up of major mask manufacturers. As of right now, it doesn’t look like President Trump will be enacting the Defense Production Act for the production of N95 masks.

The Makrite 910-N95FMX Respirator and N95 Facemasks

The Makrite 910-N95FMX respirator is the newest innovation in the Makrite N95 Mask technology. This mask provides an excellent level of both protection and comfort for its wearer. Sealed with a Surgical Rating, the 910-N95FMX is a must-have for healthcare professional and frontline workers.

NIOSH certification requires that a mask undergo specific tests to ensure it conforms to the NIOSH standards outlined. Nelson Labs performs a variety of precertification tests, including valve leak, inhalation/exhalation, Dioctyl Phthalate (DOP), and Sodium Chloride Aerosol Challenge (NaCl) testing. NIOSH reviews these test results and provides the NIOSH N95 mask certification upon the mask meeting proper testing measures.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) is the agency that certifies a particular mask for surgical use. Masks cleared by the FDA show that they demonstrate flame resistance and an adequate level of fluid resistance. Both of these are considered highly important in the healthcare industry and in surgical settings.

In Summary

The future of the adequate supply of quality N95 masks is still uncertain for the general public and the healthcare industry. It’s now more important than ever before to be careful when selecting your mask supplier as many new companies have jumped into this market with lower quality products or even counterfeit products and are trying to capitalize on this health crisis. SPH Medical is a proven healthcare supplier that works directly with Makrite to ensure that healthcare professionals receive validated NIOSH Certified N95 masks.

CategoriesInfection Prevention

N95 Masks and PPE for Healthcare

Getting the Best N95 Masks and 3-Ply Face Masks for your Medical Facility

With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting vast parts of the country and the world, there are continued questions about using different types of N95 masks to help stop the spread of the virus. Frontline healthcare workers have been under increasing stress to ensure they have all the personal protective equipment they need to ensure their safety during patient care. While most healthcare workers are used to using surgical masks in specific medical environments, traditional surgical masks do not offer as much protection against this deadly pathogen’s spread.

High-Quality Protective N95 Masks for Medical Use

Most medical offices use a wholesale PPE supplier to get all their protective gear for their staff to ensure they are well prepared to ward off this airborne pathogen. When looking at what the best options are, there are several things to consider.

Based on years of scientific data and healthcare studies, the use of NIOSH certified N95 Mask and 3 Ply Mask face coverings are proven and recognized as significant deterrents to the spread of airborne pathogens. They offer high-quality protection against all airborne diseases, not just COVID-19. These masks have been used for decades, offering medical professionals the highest protection levels for all types of deadly aerosolized pathogens.

For healthcare professionals, frontline workers, and people with high profile exposure to the public, these masks are considered vital and integral for personal protection while at work. NIOSH Certified N95 Mask or medical grade 3 Ply Mask usage has been recognized as a powerful deterrent against such contagions as ebola, avian flu viruses, SARS, plague, and many more pathogens.

Isolation Gowns

For frontline healthcare workers and all workers in the health field, having a full line of PPE can be essential in ensuring they are protected from the particles of COVID-19 infected patients. Science has now proven that COVID-19 has an incubation period where patients can be infected and not know it. Additionally, a significant number of people get infected and never show any symptoms while the virus runs its course. Because of the virus’s asymptomatic aspect, taking extra special precautions can be vital even for people who work even in standard healthcare offices and dental offices.

In the past, nursing staff and doctors treated patients in isolation as highly infectious and therefore donned PPE every time the entered a patients room that was in isolation. Signs outside the door to the patients’ room would indicate whether there were contact precautions or airborne precautions. That is why healthcare professionals are accustomed to wearing isolation gowns. Today the use of isolation gowns has expanded to just about every healthcare worker in a medical facility. They use a disposable or launderable isolation gown to cover their personal clothing to offer better protection against transferring the virus or other pathogens to other patients or other areas within the medical facility. Disposable isolation gowns are a great inexpensive alternative that has long been used in intensive care and in the surgical field. These disposable gowns are easy to use, comfortable, and a vital first-line defense for all types of healthcare workers. The SPM Medical Level I and II Isolation gowns are a great example of an affordable high quality Iso gown that is cost effective and highly protective.

The Electrostatic Sprayer

For professional medical offices, clinics, dental offices, physical therapy offices, nursing homes, and senior assisted living facilities, the use of an electrostatic sprayer has become a powerful frontline defense against COVID-19 spread. These devices can neutralize COVID-19 on all types of surfaces and are the perfect solution for disinfecting topical surfaces without spending hours trying to reach all the surfaces in a room.

The electrostatic sprayer comes in various sizes. They are all mobile and even easily transportable, allowing health care offices and facilities to ensure all of their surfaces and entrances are disinfected rapidly and effectively during and at the end of each day. Disinfecting hospitals and medical facilities using an electrostatic sprayer offers a higher level of disinfection than standard manual methods that would typically involve buckets, rags, and spray bottles. The fine 40-50 micron mist of the Electrostatic sprayer ensures even coverage and the electrostatic technology ensures that the disinfectant spray wraps around the edges and back side of the target surfaces. A total room disinfection can be completed quickly and efficiently at any time to ensure COVID-19 on surfaces are killed.

Selecting a Disinfectant

Choosing an effective disinfectant is a key part of this solution. SPH Medical’s Noroxycdiff has a 2 minute wet dwell time kill of viruses, and spore forming bacteria like Clostridium difficile. Noroxycdiff has an EPA approval and validation to kill 99.9999% of C. diff spores which is the most difficult pathogen to kill in the hospital environment, much more difficult than COVID-19.

Because the demand is high for all PPE supplies, many medical facilities find it challenging shopping around for a consistent wholesale PPE supplier for all their protective gear. Many medical facilities increasingly choose to make bulk buys of the N95 mask and 3 Ply mask face coverings, isolation gown supplies to ensure they have enough.

If you are looking for a consistent source of NIOSH Certified N95 face masks, 3 ply face masks, isolation gown supplies, or an electrostatic sprayer device for your medical or dental facility, SPH Medical is an authorized distributor for Makrite NIOSH certified N95 masks and a wide variety of PPE products. They are a commercial supplier of 3-ply surgical masks, air powered lateral transfer matt, single patient use items, and PPE supplies. They ship directly anywhere in the country and have a full line of COVID-19 disinfection and protective gear solutions for large and small hospitals, surgical centers, medical and dental facilities.

SPH Medical Makrite N95 Mask
CategoriesInfection Prevention

More Help for the Frontlines as Makrite Partners with SPH Medical

More Help for the Frontlines as Makrite Partners with SPH Medical

The news is rarely good when it comes to the novel coronavirus. Case rates surge, and deaths continue to mount. As the world struggles to cope, there is some good news. Now, the world’s health care workers have more access to the safety equipment they need. This is because Makrite is working in tandem with SPH Medical to improve the distribution of the Makrite N95 mask to frontline workers.

Before the novel coronavirus, the idea of wearing a mask was reserved for suspenseful movies and operating rooms. However, when the virus finally landed on American shores, the upheaval was immediate. Initially, experts advised against mask-wearing, but that advice was aimed at preserving supplies for medical professionals. As time went on, those recommendations changed, but everyday users were encouraged to wear disposable or handmade masks. The coveted N95 mask was ultimately deemed off-limits for general usage.

The reason for this was simple. A NIOSH N95 mask is more effective at protecting people from the spread of the virus. When worn properly, a model 9500-N95 can block out 95 percent of virus particles. With this level of protection, it is no wonder that they are prioritized for the medical community.

Even with restrictions, the need quickly outpaced the country’s supply. America had 17 million masks in a national stockpile, but many of those masks were too old to use. Moreover, American hospitals were slow to realize the threat in earnest. This lack of preparation cost them and their patients.

Production of the N95 Masks

Production of the N95 masks including the Makrite model 9500-N95 mask was not sufficient at this time. Prior to the pandemic, 3M shipped 30 million masks each month. This was nowhere near enough to meet the sudden spike of demand. Shortages and rationing followed, and such masks have been nearly inaccessible outside of hospitals. Masks were out of stock at major retailers, and many products were cost-prohibitive. In short, there were few ways to successfully procure a N95 mask.

This all unfolded at the start of the pandemic. Six months later, the country is still in the grip of the novel coronavirus. As debates rage about the best way to approach the pandemic, the supply options for a NIOSH N95 mask have also come to a head.

Manufacturing has increased consistently over the course of the pandemic. Revenue is expected to skyrocket by 23 percent over the next five years. 3M, after its rocky start, will likely put out 2 billion masks in 2020 alone. Honeywell is poised to make 250 million masks per year.

Best of all, Makrite’s partnership with SPH Medical ensures there are better supply options for a Makrite N95 mask. This increased production and distribution can satiate ongoing demand while reducing pressure on the supply chain. Makrite is one of the largest global N95 Mask manufacturers, and SPH Medical is a trusted and reliable supplier.

Masks are Becoming more Available

This is just one sign of growing stability within the market. After months of uncertainty, masks are becoming more available. Moreover, the prices have started to stabilize. While consumers can still expect to pay a premium for quality medical-grade N95 masks, they are finally more affordable. The most telling sign that things are changing in the supply chain is that these masks are no longer restricted. Now, businesses and people outside of hospitals are able to purchase these masks for their personal safety.

While this is good news for the general public, it is especially positive for workers in health care. With Makrite’s distribution capacity via SPH Medical, these critical frontline workers can be confident that they will have the supplies they need to stay safe and keep working.

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