By By Dan Hounsell

Healthcare facilities managers have gone to great lengths in the last year to ensure that their buildings were as safe and healthy as possible for staff and patients alike. From providing personal protective equipment to improving the efficiency of HVAC systems, managers implemented a series of projects and improvements to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, But workplace risk is only one factor in the health of staff.

Healthcare personnel who were infected with COVID-19 had stronger risk factors outside the workplace than in their hospital or healthcare setting, according to the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). That is the finding of a new study published recently in JAMA Network Open conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and three other universities.

The study examined survey data from nearly 25,000 healthcare providers in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Chicago, including at UMMS hospitals. They found that having a known exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in the community was the strongest risk factor for testing positive for COVID-19. Living in a ZIP code with a high COVID-19 cumulative incidence was also a strong risk factor.