infection control LTC

I too am a nursing assistant at this time, and have had the same problem. In the first facility I worked for, They told us to be sure not to place dirty linens, soiled pads, or diapers on the floor, but instead to place them on the BEDSIDE TABLE OR THE RESIDENTS CHAIR! Excuse me? It's not ok if we step in poop but it's ok if the patient eats or sits on it! Lots of problems needless to say there. But the facility I work for now is really organized. When we go into a room we have plastic baggies and place everything in the clear bags. Now we can sit the bag on the floor, which is a huge advantage! Of course each NA has their own little ways, but the main points are the same. We put the diaper in one bag, and soiled linen in another, then take them to the cart in the hallway, linen on one side, diapers on another, and just throw the entire bag in. We do our own laundry on each shift, so we just remove the bags, turn them upside down into the washer, and it even prevents up from having to pick up the soiled linen again. (We still wear gloves of course.) Anyway, that's the method the facility I work at uses!

In our facility we keep a bag full of small bags on the double hamper (laundry and trash) tied to it. Laundry stocks the linen carts for each shift and unit: adding the briefs, some gloves and the small trash bags.

We ask the CENA's to carry a couple of bags into the room with them. One for soiled linen the other for soiled briefs. Deposit it outside the door in the appropriate hamper. Simple enuff:)

Even though we have this system down to make things convenient for brief and linen changing, I still will see staff putting linens on the floor. The usual response is "I forgot the bags." Well....take 5 steps and grab the dang bangs.

In our facility all linen is to be bagged in the residents room, tied shut and placed in the linen barrel that can be taken from doorway to doorway, but not in a residents room. No linen are to be thrown in the floor, but we know it happens.. Its better than the chair or the bedside table, but it should go directly into a big plastic bag abd put in the linen barrel to avoid being placed on the floor ect, ect....

Couldn't resist posting this here because i figured that this would take the cake.

An LTC that i will be doing clinicals at has a policy AGAINST bagging the linen in the room. You are to bundle it up as well as possible and CARRY IT OUT IN THE HALL ABOUT 20 FT AWAY FROM THE ROOM and take it in the dirty linen room.

Out in the hall, with gloves on, with the nastiest linen bundled in a dirty pad, and touching these doorknobs!

I was so shocked at this i had to ask my instructor to repeat this again, i thought i'd misinterpreted her.

Until i saw the CNA's doing this.

GROSS!