Improper Handling of Dirty Linens During Care and Transport
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper handling of dirty linens to prevent cross-contamination during incontinent care and general linen management. During an observation of incontinent care provided to a resident, two CNAs were seen placing soiled pads and a pillowcase directly on the floor instead of immediately bagging them as required by facility protocol. The soiled items remained on the floor next to other linens before being bagged and removed from the room. Both CNAs later acknowledged in interviews that they did not follow the facility's process for handling dirty linens during the care episode. In a separate observation, another CNA was seen picking up dirty linens and a pad from the floor near a resident's room without wearing gloves and holding the items close to their upper body while transporting them to the designated environment room. This CNA also confirmed in an interview that the linens were dirty and that the facility's process was to bag dirty linens before transport, which was not followed. The Director of Nursing confirmed that staff are expected to bag dirty linens during care and transportation.