Improper Handling of Soiled Linens and Washcloths
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in infection prevention and control related to the handling of soiled linens and washcloths for multiple residents. On one occasion, a friend of a resident reported stool on the resident’s bedding to the Laundry and Housekeeping Manager, who stated she would inform staff that the bedding needed to be changed. Shortly thereafter, surveyors observed the soiled bedding from that resident’s bed placed directly on the floor with nothing underneath it. The resident’s roommate reported that staff usually put dirty linen on the floor and then bag it when they are done. A CNA acknowledged placing the bedding on the floor because she realized there was no bag available after removing the soiled linens and left to get one. Later the same day, the soiled bedding remained on the floor, and the same CNA stepped on it while walking past to retrieve an item. Another staff member, identified as a CNA/Ward Clerk, stated that soiled linens should be either in a bag or in the linen room, and the CNA reiterated that she had removed the bedding before realizing she did not have a bag. In a separate observation that afternoon, another surveyor found soiled washcloths on the floor next to a trash can in another resident’s room, with no staff present. The facility’s written Laundry and Linen Handling & Storage policy specified that linen, clean or soiled, should not touch clothing or uniforms, that all soiled linen should be handled as potentially infectious, and that soiled linens and briefs should be placed in plastic bags or appropriate containers for transport, which was not followed in these instances.
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