Infection Control: New York State Mandatory Training

Element III


Introduction

Element I

Element II

Element IV

Element V

Element VI

Conclusion

Resources

References

Take Test

Exit to Menu





Safety and Health Controls

In order to comply with the safety standards and thereby protect the health and safety of healthcare providers and patients, a hierarchy of controls is utilized. The hierarchy of safety and health controls include (CDC, 2004a):

  • Legal and regulatory controls.
  • Administrative and Training controls.
  • Engineering controls.
  • Work practice controls.
  • Personal protective equipment (this will be covered in Element IV of this training).

Legal and Regulatory Controls

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, General Duty Clause requires that each employer:

  1. Furnish to each employee employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees;
  2. Complies occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act.

And each employee must comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to this Act.

In 1991 OSHA promulgated the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. This standard was designed to protect millions of healthcare workers and related occupations from the risk of exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. It has multiple components including the use of standard precautions (explained below in the work practice control section) and expanded transmission-based precautions, exposure determination (employers must identify all job classifications, as well as all tasks and procedures where exposure to bloodborne pathogens is possible as part of routine work).

A clear example of a legal control is the 2008 law that included physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants as professionals who are legally required to adhere to scientifically accepted principles and practices of infection control. The previously mentioned incident of unsafe injection practices at a pain clinic on Long Island facilitated the creation of this law. Reportedly, the physician at this clinic had been under surveillance for years regarding his infection control practices and many of the 10,500 patients that were notified of possible exposure to bloodborne pathogens contracted HCV and HBV (USA Today, 2008). Unfortunately physicians were not previously included in the legal requirement to utilize proper infection control; the 2008 law is a legal control that was enacted, at least in part, in response to this particular situation.

Administrative and Training Controls

Administrative and training controls include all of the policies and procedures related to infection control that each healthcare facility must provide to employees of that facility. These policies and procedures relate to any issue in the healthcare setting in which an employee would have to utilize proper infection controls practices. The training of employees regarding infection control issues are also a component of administrative controls, as each facility determines the need for training.

It is important to remember that some training controls are also a legal control, for example this course is a legislated requirement for licensed healthcare providers in New York State.

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls eliminate or reduce exposure to a threat such as a pathogen or physical hazard through the use or substitution of engineered machinery or equipment. Examples include needleless syringes, sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles, safer medical devices such as sharps with engineered injury protections and needleless systems, specialized requirements for heating, cooling and ventilation in areas that house infectious diseases (operating rooms, intensive care units) (CDC, 2003a), high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration, ultraviolet lights, safety interlocks, and splatter shields on medical equipment associated with risk prone procedures (e.g., locking centrifuge lids). Well-designed engineering controls eliminate human error thus giving the healthcare worker greater protection from the hazard.

Whenever possible, safer devices must be utilized in order to prevent sharps injuries. This includes the need to evaluate and select safer devices. Those healthcare providers who will be utilizing the safer device need to be involved in the process of decision making. It is preferable to utilize devices wherein the safety feature is integrated into the device, rather than one in which the safety equipment is an accessory device or one in which the healthcare provider must change practice habits (passive vs. active safety features). Safer devices that are specific to a particular clinical area or setting are ideal; devices that provide immediate and continuous protection are preferable. All staff who may utilize the new equipment or device must be educated as to the proper use of the device. Whenever possible, eliminate the traditional, or non-safety, alternative, so that staff must utilize the safer device.

Another example of an engineering control is the puncture-resistant containers for the disposal and transport of needles and other sharp objects.

Immediately or as soon as possible after use, contaminated reusable sharps must be placed in appropriate containers until properly reprocessed. These containers must be:

  • Puncture resistant;
  • Labeled or color-coded;
  • Leakproof on the sides and bottom.

Single-use contaminated sharps must be discarded immediately or as soon as feasible in containers that are:

  • Closable;
  • Puncture resistant;
  • Leakproof on sides and bottom; and
  • Labeled or color-coded.

During use, containers for contaminated sharps must be:

  • Easily accessible to personnel and located as close as is feasible to the immediate area where sharps are used or can be reasonably anticipated to be found (e.g., laundries);
  • Maintained upright throughout use; and
  • Replaced routinely and not be allowed to overfill.

When moving containers of contaminated sharps from the area of use, the containers shall be:

  • Closed immediately prior to removal or replacement to prevent spillage or protrusion of contents during handling, storage, transport, or shipping;
  • Placed in a secondary container if leakage is possible.

The second container shall be:

  • Closable;
  • Constructed to contain all contents and prevent leakage during handling, storage, transport, or shipping; and o Labeled or color-coded.
  • Reusable containers shall not be opened, emptied, or cleaned manually or in any other manner which would expose employees to the risk of percutaneous injury.

The New York State Department of Health (2007) addressed the used needles, syringes, and lancets used by millions of people at home during their routine health care. This public service pamphlet can be obtained from http://www.health.state.ny.us/publications/0909.pdf. It is aimed at preventing sharps injuries to family members and pets, preventing the sharps from being re-used or shared, and protecting the environment.

Sharps containers for the home can be bought at local drugstores, or alternatively a puncture-resistant bottle, such as a laundry bottle can be used. Instruct patients to screw the cap on tightly, apply tape over the cap and write "Contains Sharps" on the bottle. Instruct patients to put sharps into the container immediately after use and keep the container closed and away from children and pets and those who may be interested in re-using needles /syringes (NYSDOH, 2007). Instruct patients to (NYSDOH, 2007):

  • Never put the used sharps container in the trash.
  • Never flush used sharps down the toilet or drop them into a sewer drain.
  • Never clip, bend, or put the cap back on used sharps.
  • Never put loose used sharps or your used sharps container in with the recyclables.
  • Never use soda cans, milk cartons, glass bottles or containers that can be broken or punctured.
  • Avoid coffee cans because the plastic lid easily comes off and may leak. When the used sharps container is almost full, instruct patients to bring it to a safe disposal site:
  • Some drugstores, health clinics, and community service agencies have large metal boxes (called kiosks) for sharps disposal. Call 1-800-541-2437 to find a kiosk near you.
  • Used sharps can be brought to any hospital or nursing home in New York State. It is important to contact the facility to determine hours, days and location where used sharps can be brought. Call the New York State Department of Health at 1-800-522-5006 (Growing Up Healthy hotline) to find sharps disposal sites in your area. TTY: 1-800-655-1789. To find places with sharps disposal kiosks, call 1-800-541-2437. For a list of disposal sites and kiosks by county, visit http://www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/aids/?harm_reduction/needles_syringes/sharps/directory_?sharpscollection.htm.

Another example of both an engineering control and a legal control, is the New York State law in 2000 that prohibited the use of sharps that do not incorporate engineered sharps injury protections with certain allowable exceptions when (NIOSH, 2002):

  • appropriate engineered sharps are not available in the market;
  • the use of sharps without engineered sharps injury protections is essential to the performance of a specific medical procedure; or
  • based on objective product evaluation, sharps with engineered injury protections are not more effective in preventing exposure incidents than sharps without engineered injury protections.

This New York State law was in response to OSHA's revision of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (a federal law).

Work Practice Controls

Work practice controls relate to how work is done. They consist of multiple interventions which, when utilized properly, insure worker safety when engineering controls are not possible or available. Work practice controls alter the manner in which a task is performed, thereby reducing exposure to bloodborne pathogens (e.g., prohibiting recapping of needles by a two-handed technique).

Precautions are a set of infection control practices that healthcare personnel use to reduce transmission of microorganisms in healthcare settings. A very common work practice control is the use Standard Precautions.

  • Standard precautions combine the major features of Universal Precautions (UP) and Body Substance Isolation (BSI) and are based on the principle that all blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions except sweat, nonintact skin, and mucous membranes may contain transmissible infectious agents. Standard Precautions include a group of infection prevention practices that apply to all patients, regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status, in any setting in which healthcare is delivered (CDC, 2007).

    These include: hand hygiene; use of gloves, gown, mask, eye protection, or face shield, depending on the anticipated exposure; and safe injection practices. Also, equipment or items in the patient environment likely to have been contaminated with infectious body fluids must be handled in a manner to prevent transmission of infectious agents (e.g., wear gloves for direct contact, contain heavily soiled equipment, properly clean and disinfect or sterilize reusable equipment before use on another patient). The application of Standard Precautions during patient care is determined by the nature of the healthcare worker-patient interaction and the extent of anticipated blood, body fluid, or pathogen exposure (CDC, 2007). Standard Precautions are also intended to protect patients by ensuring that healthcare personnel do not carry infectious agents to patients on their hands or via equipment used during patient care (CDC, 2007).

    The use of standard precautions assumes that the blood or body fluids of any person could be infectious, therefore personal protective equipment (PPE) may be needed as a barrier to transmission of infectious agents. Decisions about the use of PPE are determined by the type of interaction the healthcare worker has with the patient (CDC, 2004a).

    PPE for standard precautions include (CDC, 2002; CDC, 2004a; CDC, 2007):

    • Gloves when touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, mucous membranes, non-intact skin, or contaminated surfaces and objects.
    • Gowns during procedures and patient care activities likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood/body fluids, secretions, or excretions; be careful to secure the gown fully and to remove it immediately after the procedure/care.
    • Mask during procedures that are likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, bodily fluids, secretions, and excretions.
    • Eye protection during procedures and activities likely to generate splashes, sprays of blood, body fluids.
    • Face shield during patient care activities likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions.

    According to the CDC's Guidelines for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents- 2007, there are 3 additional components of Standard Precautions: Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette, safe injection practices, and use of masks for insertion of catheters or injection of material into spinal or epidural spaces via lumbar puncture procedures (e.g., myelogram, spinal or epidural anesthesia). While most elements of Standard Precautions evolved from Universal Precautions that were developed for protection of healthcare personnel, these new elements of Standard Precautions focus on protection of patients. Safe injection practices have been addressed previously in this course.

    Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette grew out of the 2003 SARS outbreaks. The elements of Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette include 1) education of healthcare facility staff, patients, and visitors; 2) posted signs, in language(s) appropriate to the population served, with instructions to patients and accompanying family members or friends; 3) source control measures (e.g., covering the mouth/nose with a tissue when coughing and prompt disposal of used tissues, using surgical masks on the coughing person when tolerated and appropriate); 4) hand hygiene after contact with respiratory secretions; and 5) spatial separation, ideally >3 feet, of persons with respiratory infections in common waiting areas when possible. Covering sneezes and coughs and placing masks on coughing patients are proven means of source containment that prevent infected persons from dispersing respiratory secretions into the air. Masking may be difficult in some settings. These measures should be effective in decreasing the risk of transmission of pathogens contained in large respiratory droplets (CDC, 2007).

  • Expanded Precautions include the following:
    • Contact Precautions
    • Droplet Precautions
    • Airborne Infection Isolation Room (AIIR) Precautions

    PPE for contact precautions include: gowns and gloves for contact with patient or environment of care (e.g. medical equipment, environmental surfaces). In some instances gowns are required when entering a patient's environment.

    PPE for droplet precautions: surgical masks within three to ten feet of patient (CDC, 2003; CDC, 2007).

    PPE for airborne precautions: particulate respirator. In addition negative pressure isolation room is also needed.

Cleaning of Blood and Body Fluid Spills

Promptly clean and decontaminate spills of blood or other potentially infectious materials. Initial removal of bulk material is followed by disinfection with an appropriate disinfectant

  • Follow proper procedures for site decontamination of spills of blood or blood-containing body fluids:
    • Use protective gloves and other PPE appropriate for this task;
    • If the spill contains large amounts of blood or body fluids, clean the visible matter with disposable absorbent material, and discard the used cleaning materials in appropriate, labeled containers.
  • Swab the area with a cloth or paper towels moderately wetted with disinfectant, and allow the surface to dry.
  • Use germicides registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use as hospital disinfectants and labeled tuberculocidal or registered germicides on the EPA Lists D and E (i.e., products with specific label claims for HIV or HBV) in accordance with label instructions to decontaminate spills of blood and other body fluids.
  • An EPA-registered sodium hypochlorite product is preferred, but if such products are not available, generic sodium hypochlorite solutions (e.g., household chlorine bleach) may be used:
    • Use a 1:100 dilution (500--615 ppm available chlorine) to decontaminate nonporous surfaces after cleaning a spill of either blood or body fluids in patient-care settings;
    • If a spill involves large amounts of blood or body fluids, or if a blood or culture spill occurs in the laboratory, use a 1:10 dilution (5,000--6,150 ppm available chlorine) for the first application of germicide before cleaning.

Element V of this course will further address the proper handling/disposal of blood and body fluids, decontamination of patient care items and work surfaces.

Continue to Element IV