Failure to Follow Hand Hygiene and Infection Control Practices During Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was observed failing to perform hand hygiene before and after obtaining a resident's vital signs near the nursing station. The CNA did not sanitize or wash his hands prior to or after providing care, and after recording the vital signs, proceeded to enter another resident's room without sanitizing his hands. The CNA acknowledged during an interview that he did not follow the facility's hand hygiene expectations, which require handwashing before and after resident contact and when obtaining vital signs, as well as disinfecting the equipment used. Another CNA confirmed the facility's expectations for hand hygiene and device disinfection when providing care or obtaining labs. The Director of Nursing/Infection Preventionist (DON/IP) and a Clinical Resource staff member reiterated that hand hygiene is required before and after all patient care activities, including obtaining vital signs, and that equipment disinfection is equally important. The facility's infection control policy also outlines specific situations requiring hand hygiene, emphasizing its role in preventing the spread of infection.