I am working on an infection control initiative in my NICU and I was wondering what other NICUs do about rings. I am new to this unit, but came from a unit that does not allow rings at all. My new unit allows all rings.
My other question was isolette covers. How frequently do you change them? Here we only change them if they fall on the floor.
ANY help with these questions would be wonderful. If anyone knows of any good infection control resources that would be an awesome bonus as well.
All cribs, Giraffes, and Omnibeds are changed q 2 weeks.
We change isolettes q2 weeks, but cribs NEVER. Literally. Z was in the same crib for seriously at least 4 months. As soon as he was stable enough to get off the warmer, he went in a crib, and it wasn't changed, ever.
one ring, one watch, nothing below the elbows, docs included. We do encourge parents to wear short sleeves, no fake nails and minimal jewelry. Most comply once we tell the the rationales for it.
Specializes in Level II & III NICU, Mother-Baby Unit.
I'm curious about the units that allow nurses to wear watches... Our infection control policy says no wrist watches for NICU nurses because they harbor germs and that when you go from one isolette or radiant heat warmer to another that we could potentially transfer germs from one place to another as we touch linens, portholes, side rails, etc. Has anyone else heard of this connection?
We change isolettes q2 weeks, but cribs NEVER. Literally. Z was in the same crib for seriously at least 4 months. As soon as he was stable enough to get off the warmer, he went in a crib, and it wasn't changed, ever.
We change our isolettes every week, but we never change cribs either. I usually wipe down all the siderails with antimicrobial wipes at the start of the shift though.
We change isolettes q2 weeks, but cribs NEVER. Literally. Z was in the same crib for seriously at least 4 months. As soon as he was stable enough to get off the warmer, he went in a crib, and it wasn't changed, ever.
We usually don't change our cribs out either. Occasionally we will do so on a baby who is in one of the smaller bassinets for a while - nothing like seeing dried up breast milk / formula stains running down the clear plastic side of the crib. For our "big metal cribs" we usually never change those out. "D" was in his for 3+ months and had the same one the entire time. However - we do change out crib sheets at least every week (or more often if necessary)
We don't allow anything below the elbows for our department staff and visitors. Also, no nails over 1/4 inch, and no nail polish. Most of the staff pins their rings to their tops, but I find it gets in the way of snuggling the big babies. :)
My biggest gripe is usually staff from other departments that have a less stringent policy than ours. Usually, they don't even stop to wash their hands. Gross. Who knows who they touched last.
Isolette covers are changed whenever they are soiled, or once a week....whichever comes first. We have to call linens on a regular basis to get our specials back, though.
Our nurses are not allowed ANY rings or watches below the elbows. No watches, and we don't let the newly engaged or newly wedded staff wear their rings either. We wear our own scrubs but we must change in the hospital and we do a surgical scrub for at least 3 minutes before the start of our shift and sometimes a few times during the shift (MRSA babies if they are unable to be cohorted especially). No artificial nails and I think we are supposed to only have clear nail polish. The polish color is not enforced too much but that is only b/c we clean in and around our nails with the surgical scrub.
The same goes for our docs and NNPs. We make sure they all scrub in. Visitors also scrub, wear an isolation gown but are unfortunately NOT required to take their rings off while visiting.
In this NICU, we can wear only a plain band. Of course, germs don't know the difference in jewelry but plain bands don't have facets and grooves that germs are likely to adhere to. We cannot wear bracelets or watches ever or even long-sleeved shirts or jackets during pt care.
We change our isolette covers if they fall, when we change the isolette (q wk) or if we find a cuter one.
We cannot wear fake nails and if we wear nail polish on our no-longer-than 1/4 in nails it must be neat and free of chips/peeling.
Also, we don't use scrub brushes but rather a special soap for our 3-minute scrub. Scrub brushes cause microabrasions.
One wedding band and a watch, no long sleeves for patient care, no fake nails (staff or moms...they have to glove). We do a 3 minute entry scrub and wash and purell in between. Visitors scrub in.
I work in a Level III NICU in Tampa, FL and we don't allow rings of any kind, either. (Applies to all --- staff, parents, students, visitors, etc.) Everyone also has to do a 3-minute scrub. Staff change in to hospital scrubs (prior to scrub) and anyone who's not staff have to wear a gown after scrubbing in. Staff are absolutely not allowed to have artificial nails - that's hospital-wide policy...gross if you think having artifical nails in a hospital anyway.
Our policy allows no jewelry from the elbows down for staff or visitors. Staff and visitors must do a 3 minute surgical scrub before any patient contact occurs.
Isolette covers are changed bi-weekly when we change the isolette or PRN (if they fall on the floor or are visibly soiled).
elizabells, BSN, RN
2,094 Posts
We change isolettes q2 weeks, but cribs NEVER. Literally. Z was in the same crib for seriously at least 4 months. As soon as he was stable enough to get off the warmer, he went in a crib, and it wasn't changed, ever.