Failure to Perform Hand Hygiene After Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
A certified nursing assistant (CNA) failed to follow infection control practices after assisting a resident who had a physician's order for ice therapy to the knee. The CNA entered the resident's room, donned gloves, and repositioned the ice wrap on the resident's knee as requested. After completing the task, the CNA removed her gloves and exited the resident's room into the hallway without performing hand hygiene. During an interview, the CNA acknowledged that she should have sanitized her hands upon leaving the room. The facility's infection control policy requires staff to use alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water after direct resident contact and after removing gloves, and specifies that glove use does not replace hand hygiene. The infection preventionist confirmed that staff are expected to sanitize their hands when leaving residents' rooms.