Help, please! Need fast responses on Infection Control

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.

Hello all, I need some responses ASAP (and later too, but I'd like to get as many as I can before tonight) about what your unit does for infection control, specifically:

1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

Thank you so much!

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Addendum:

I am very grateful to those of you who have already responded, though I've just realized that I forgot to ask two important things:

Can you please tell me what size NICU you work in?

Is it in an academic setting?

Thank you again!

We are having issues with MRSA in my unit and I'm just trying to get an idea of what others do about it. We do NOT require parents to gown or glove. Not even with C-Diff patients! I think the only one we require them to gown and glove with is VRE, and those babies still remain in the general population. We haven't (knock on wood) had one in a while, but the last time we did, the VRE patient was paired with another patient, the nurse just had to gown and glove for both patients.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU.

1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

We have all parents/siblings/visitors do a 1-3 minute scrub with soap before entering the unit. We don't require them to gown.

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

We are allowed to wear bands, however, no rings with stones or any wrist jewelry.

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

When a baby has MRSA they are usually placed as a one to one assignment. We are required to gown and glove before any touching (infection control just changed that policy, we were required to wear masks as well). Parents and visitors are also required to gown and glove.

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

We're allowed to wear our own scrubs.

Hope that's helpful!

:D

In answer to the addendum: I work in a 35 bed Level III NICU. We are a university hospital.

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1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

parents & visitors are required to do a 2-3 minute scrub and wear gowns

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

yes & yes

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

we do MRSA swabs on admission and weekly thereafter- babies that come up + are isolated, nurses/staff must gown & glove, parents have to gown but are not required to wear gloves.

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

we can wear our own scrubs or the hospital provided scrubs

edited to answer the addendum: I work in a teaching hospital with a 25 bed Level III and separate 11 bed Level II, the Level II does not take kids on contact precautions.

Also, being assigned to a MRSA+ baby is NOT an automatic 1:1 assignment for us. When I last worked we had 2 MRSA+ babies, and one day I was assigned to have both of those babies plus a grower-feeder in the general population.

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1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies? Visitors are supposed to be doing a 3 minute scrub. I can say that usually doesn't happen, usually they just do a normal wash at the sink. They do not gown unless their baby is in isolation.

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

yes & yes

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

I'm not sure of the exact policy as I have not taken care of a baby with it yet but I believe it is a 1:1 with contact precautions.

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

We wear our own scrubs.

Can you please tell me what size NICU you work in? about a 50 bed level 2 includes step down

Is it in an academic setting? yes

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I work in a 10 bed level 2. It's a community hospital.

Parents just wash their hands; rings are ok. We wear our own scrubs.

We don't have babies w/MRSA.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

- 2 min chlorhexidine scrub, gown when holding baby, gloves/gown/mask if baby's in isolation.

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

-Yes and yes

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

-MRSA babies are cared for by one nurse, so if only one MRSA baby, 1 nurse for that baby. That RN can't go on deliveries, care for other babies or do admissions. Gown/Gloves/Mask required for nurses and visitors unless the parents vehemently refuse, at which point they are referred to the NM.

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

-wear my own lavender scrubs, woohoo!! We can get hospital scrubs out of the ScrubEX if needed.

38 bed Level III NICU

Stephen

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, educator.

1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

- 3 min chlorhexidine scrub, no cover gown unless parent is dirty.

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

-Yes and yes

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors? They are isolated or co-horted with other positives in one room. Contact isolation: Cover gowns (each baby has a box of disposable ones at their bedside) and gloves. Parents have to do the same and scrub upon leaving the room. If they don't want to comply, they don't get to visit, end of story. We scrub all the counters, etc each shift with wipes. All babies are swabbed once a week..if they get 3 clear they are taken back out into general population but get all new beds, etc. If colonized, they are isolated until DC.

-4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution? We wear our own scrubs.

-5) 52 bed Level III unit. Academic hospital....our residents are required to shower if they have been working in the clinics or on the peds floors.

_6) Cdiff.....those kids are isolated period. Gown and gloves are strict, even parents. Again, everyone has to scrub upon leaving that room. We use bleach wipes on everything once a shift, including chart covers, counters, beds, chairs. We just had an outbreak of it. If colonized, they are isolated until DC.

Your infectious disease should have strict guidelines on this...look them up.

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Specializes in Newborn ICU, Trauma ICU, Burn ICU, Peds.
1)

Your infectious disease should have strict guidelines on this...look them up.

Oh believe me, what guidlelines are in place, are known backwards and forwards by us in the trenches ;)

We just got handed down new guidlelines that the nurses/techs are no longer able to wear our rings, and they say it will be moving forward to include RT's and all MD's/NP's. I understand the thought process, but I also believe if we can't wear ours, it makes sense that the parents shouldn't, either. After all, a parent could have been gardening or making dinner with meat, or work in a grocery store, or have a farm, or doing any number of activites that could trap bugs under their ring.

We do not require our parents to gown when visiting their child who is positive (for anything) and many of us think they absolutely should. But IC says it's not necesssary, so I wanted to get a good cross-section of folks here and what you do about that in your unit.

I have read the multiple studies that say the cover gown to enter the NICU is not necessary, but it makes sense to me to have everyone wear an impermable gown for the positive kiddos. I hope that in getting more data (even informally) from other NICU's that I can force a bit closer look at it by our IC folks.

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Specializes in NICU.

1) Do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

Yes, everyone coming in to visit a baby does a 3 minute scrub. There's a light at the sink that goes off when it's been 3 minutes, so they're usually good about washing the entire 3 minutes.

2) Can you wear your wedding rings? Can your parents?

Yes, we can wear wedding rings. But we are a gloved unit, meaning ANY time ANYone touches a baby, they wear gloves. Parents don't have to wear gloves when touching their baby, and they can wear rings.

3) What do you do when a baby has MRSA? Do you have to gown? Do your parents or visitors?

One nurse is assigned to that baby and that nurse is considered "dirty" .... they can't touch other babies, go on deliveries, get admits, etc. Parents/visitors gown and glove if their baby is in isolation.

4) Can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

We wear our own scrubs and we don't wear gowns (unless in isolation)

Can you please tell me what size NICU you work in?

60+ bed Level III (ECMO, surgeries, etc)

Is it in an academic setting?

Yes

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hello all, i need some responses asap (and later too, but i'd like to get as many as i can before tonight) about what your unit does for infection control, specifically:

1) do you have your parents scrub up and gown before coming in and visting their baby/babies?

parents and visitors have to do a 2 minute scrub before entering nicu. they don't have to wear a gown unless they smell like cigarette smoke.

2) can you wear your wedding rings? can your parents?

yes/yes

3) what do you do when a baby has mrsa? do you have to gown? do your parents or visitors?

isolation room for baby, staff has to gown and glove, parents don't. we don't get many babies with mrsa though.

4) can you wear your own scrubs, or are you provided scrubs by your institution?

we wear our own scrubs.

thank you so much!

-----

addendum:

i am very grateful to those of you who have already responded, though i've just realized that i forgot to ask two important things:

can you please tell me what size nicu you work in? level iii, 40 bed.

is it in an academic setting? yes

thank you again!

we are having issues with mrsa in my unit and i'm just trying to get an idea of what others do about it. we do not require parents to gown or glove. not even with c-diff patients! i think the only one we require them to gown and glove with is vre, and those babies still remain in the general population. we haven't (knock on wood) had one in a while, but the last time we did, the vre patient was paired with another patient, the nurse just had to gown and glove for both patients.

anytime a baby has something like this they go into isolation but the parents don't gown/glove. we suggest gowns to the parents and show them where they are kept, but it is up to them to wear them.
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