Med/Surg overflow on OB/Gyn/Peds unit

[BAccardorn]

We have an 18 bed OB/Gyn/Peds unit, and at times, we receive med surg overflow. I was wondering how others deal with this overflow, if you get any at all. How do you staff the department to take care of this overflow, Pediatric patients, OBs with newborns in & out of the rooms, especially in the area of MRSA + patients? We are told that "good handwashing" will cover for those patients that are infected. We have to take care of these patients, then go into an OBs room, deal with the newborn, etc, or into a Pediatrics room. How do you deal with this, or do you have a policy or staffing standard that keeps the overflow from occurring on your unit, if the OB/Peds census is low? We can't get any answers, and the CDC will not make a statement about crossing infections of this type on an OB floor. If you know where there is a statement from AWHONN, ACOG, or CDC, please share.

Thanks

[dinorn]

on our postparum/gyn surg unit we often get overflow from other areas. we are a "clean" unit, therefore our hospital policy states we can not accept infectious patients. we NEVER accept a pt requiring isolation. our administration is aware of this policy however there have been occasions when they have tried to give us an infectious pt, we also ask about the pt's lab results if available (wbc's, cultures...)and will refuse a patient who is infectious. there have been a few times when i have had to call our nurse manager in the middle of the night to get her support. if we have a patient on our unit who we find to be infectious after admission then we transfer that pt to another unit. our infection control nurse and nurse manager are both very supportive of this policy and all us nurses do our best to enforce the policy.being consistent and firm about infection control has reinforced the policy and administration realizes we will speak up if we feel they are going against policy. sometimes if the other units are filled, administration will transfer clean cases to our unit in order to open a bed for an infectious pt to be admitted to another unit.

i would suggest talking with your infection control nurse to develop a hospital policy on infection control on your unit, and be consistent in that policy.good luck!