Improper Disinfection of Shared Blood Pressure Cuff
Penalty
Summary
A licensed nurse failed to properly disinfect a shared manual blood pressure cuff after use on a resident. During a medication pass observation, the nurse was seen wiping the cuff with a disposable disinfectant wipe but did not allow the surface to remain wet for the full one-minute contact time required by the manufacturer's instructions. The nurse initially stated the cuff should have air dried for three minutes, but upon reviewing the manufacturer's instructions, acknowledged that the required contact time was one minute. Interviews with the Infection Preventionist and the Assistant Director of Nursing confirmed that the facility's expectation was for staff to clean and disinfect shared resident equipment, such as blood pressure cuffs, according to the manufacturer's instructions. The facility's policy also required reusable resident care equipment to be decontaminated between residents per manufacturer guidelines. The failure to follow these procedures was directly observed and confirmed through staff interviews and policy review.