Isolation Patients: what is your protocol for dining ?

[DaddyO]

wondering what is the protocol for sending up food for Pts in Isolation.

For one, should the kitchen be made aware of all isolation patients on a particular floor so disposable trays can be sent up ?

I had this question during one of my clinical rotations. My patient was in isolation, but his food was sent up on a regular tray. I asked my Prof if I should wipe the tray down before placing on the rack to be taken back to the kitchen and she said there was no need for this.

I was puzzled by this since there is a designated stethoscope and dina machine in the room already.

Just wondering what is done in other hospitals.

Thanks in advance !

[loriangel14, RN]

Where I work they are sent trays the same as anyone else and collected with all the others as well.

[DayDreamin ER CRNP]

Where I work they are sent trays the same as anyone else and collected with all the others as well.

We do this too. Keep in mind, the Food Service personnel will typically be the other ones handling the trays and they usually wear gloves. There really isn't any reason to isolate the items from the room necessarily.

meredith

[avtech]

I wondered the same thing in clinicals. Tell me if I'm wrong, but do you not even in a normal situation remove your gloves when leaving the room of a patient?? So you would definately take off isolation gear before leaving the room with your now bare hands on their tray?? I personally saw an isolation client with sores all over him, some bleeding. Don't think some of that fluid got on the tray?? I think all isolation clients should have disposable trays sent up, but then that would affect the bottom line, and we can't have that . Just my two cents as a student with a little bit of "critical thinking" we are taught to use. Right?? :)

[SlightlyMental_RN]

Wow...just shaking my head at this one. We use "regular" trays, however, while still in isolation gear, another co-worker in gloves will stand w/an open plastic tray isolation bag. We work as a team to slide the tray w/minimal exposure to all into the bag and then the food-service folks collect the tray and sanitize everything from there. We also do not use our own stethoscope, etc.--there will be designated ones in the room for staff use. What, do people think that the virus/bacteria know that they're in isolation and to not leave the patient's room?? Weird....

[DaddyO]

Ok good....I thought I was being a little to anal here.

So the same is occuring in other hospitals as well.

When the Pt is done eating.....We place the tray outside on the Isolation cart.....We take the gloves and gowns off and discard in the garabadge right inside the doorway......

but then I walk down the hallway with the tray, plate and utensils from the room...and place on a rack to be taken back down to the kitchen.

The tray is then taken off the rack down in the kitchen by an employee that delivered the food to the Pt, and placed near the dishwasher to be washed. This same employee, will make another round to deliver food to both those in isolation and other Patients in the hospital.

Wow....

so wait.....what i have done to help the hospital was to call down to the kitchen and let them know which rooms are isolation rooms so that they can send up disposable trays. I am thinking this should have been done earlier ...maybe during the admitting process or whenever the need for Isolation was declared. Noted in the Kitchen's system somewhere. I mean it can be noted that the Pt is on some kind of restricted diet....why not have a field telling if the Pt is in Isolation or not.

and oh....I am a career changer.......my first bachelors was in Risk Management.....hehehe

[netglow, ASN, RN]

This also concerns me from time to time. Never have seen disposable trays or special protocol for trays that were in the room. Only that food service is not allowed in the room if iso, so, they let me know they have the tray, and I take the tray from them -- they hand to me from outside. Good idea to have bags as previously mentioned, but I am sure they are not there to save a buck.

[sassy_cassie]

This is a topic i fuss often at work about. In inpatient rehab the patients all eat in a dining room together. The trays come from the kichen then when give them to the patients at the tables. Our isolation patients sit at the same tables as nonisolation patients.

[loriangel14, RN]

This is a topic i fuss often at work about. In inpatient rehab the patients all eat in a dining room together. The trays come from the kichen then when give them to the patients at the tables. Our isolation patients sit at the same tables as nonisolation patients.

Ours too.Same situation.Our isolation patients can come out of their rooms.

[DaddyO]

can we all think of suggestions to offer to the hospital.

i mentioned having the Pt's files to reflect Isolation down in the kitchen, just as is done when their is a restricted diet order.

[Redhead28]

Oh you will worry yourself to death if you wonder about isolation protocal. Have you ever seen a room cleaned after an isolation patient? Other than washing the curtains (if a semi-private) there is no difference in the cleaning routine. So the bedside table, bed rails, bathroom walls have all been touched but not washed down throughly. Have you ever had to change a bed because someone soiled it and you know the mattress was soiled but they do not get rid of the mattress.

[dscrn]

Isolation pts, along with Kosher, got their meals on disposable trays. This all has me wondering-my son is working dietary in aLTC facility-will have to ask if they have disposable trays for isolation ots...