Brookings Health System Offers Respirator Fit Tests for Local Businesses

Brookings Health System’s respiratory care department now offers quantitative respirator fit testing for local businesses.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires businesses to annually fit test employees who use respirators as personal protective equipment on the job. Trained respiratory therapists from Brookings Health System are able to travel to local businesses to perform respirator fit tests for groups of employees. Individual employees may also setup times for respirator fit testing at Brookings Health System’s hospital.

“We use the OSHA-compliant PortaCount® Pro+ Respirator Fit Tester,” said Respiratory Care Director Kelly Maser. “This is a quantitative machine that measures the actual amount of leakage into the face piece. It does not rely upon the sense of taste, smell or irritation like the qualitative, hood methods. Our testing method eliminates human error and makes sure employees have a correct fit.”

Brookings Health System can provide fit testing for any type of tight-fitting respirator, including:

• Disposable filtering-facepiece fit testing for Series 100/99/95/P1/P2/P3/ HEPA masks 
• Half-mask fit testing
• Full-face fit testing
• Gas mask fit testing
• PAPR fit testing
• SCBA fit testing

Cost is $50 per fit test or $150 per fit test coupled with pulmonary function test. There is no travel charge for local businesses to test employee groups. For more information on respirator fit testing, contact Brookings Health System at (605) 696-7729 or visit their booth on Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Chamber of Commerce’s Think Local Showcase.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, Arlington Medical Center and White Medical Clinic. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.