Infection Control Lapses in Equipment and Linen Handling
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed multiple failures in infection control practices involving three residents. For one resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, dementia, and morbid obesity, a dirty nebulizer machine was found on the floor next to a heat unit, with the face mask not stored in a bag but left exposed on the heat unit. The nebulizer mask was dated over a month prior to the observation. An LPN confirmed that the nebulizer should not have been on the floor and the mask should have been bagged. The resident's clinical record indicated a physician's order for frequent nebulizer treatments. Another resident with encephalopathy and neurogenic bladder was found to have a urinary catheter bag sitting directly on the floor, containing approximately 400 ml of urine. Both a QMA and an RN acknowledged that catheter bags should not be left on the floor. In a separate incident, a soiled brief, gown, and linen were observed lying on the floor in a room of a resident with lung cancer, dementia, and dysphagia, who was always incontinent of bladder. A CNA confirmed that these soiled items should not have been left on the floor. Facility policy reviewed by the DON specified that urinary drainage bags should not touch the floor, contaminated linen should be bagged, and equipment should be stored to prevent contamination.