Convatec wound guide

[Stillanurse]

I am in infecton control nurse, at recent Home Health inservice the Director asked me to speak on Infection Control. The subject was brought up as to whether the nurses should be bringing the Convatec wound measuring guides back to the office after using them for wound measuring.They are currently using a Sharpie marker to trace the wound onto the guide. The nurses are currectly wiping them off with alcohol and bringing them back to the office to copy for wound size documentation. Are other HH doing this. I'm wondering what a JCAHO surveyor would think of this.

[renerian, BSN, RN]

I used them once and tossed them out as they were dirty.

renerian

[hoolahan, ASN, RN]

I read this somewhere before, to use a zip-lock sandwich bag, you can lay the dirty side on the wound, then you draw on the clean side, then you cut off the dirty side and keep them clean.

I would think that as long as you have a policy/procedure writen up on how this is done, so then it is the "standard" for your agency, JCAHO shouldn't have a problem with it, since no cleaning is needed, and no contamintaed portion is even in contatct with the record. Then if you keep some convatec guides by the xerox machine, they can lay the clean tracing over the guide and make a xerox one for the travel chart and one for the perm record.

[Stillanurse]

What a great idea suggesting the ziplock bag! I have already notifed the HH Director of your idea.Thanks!