Infection Prevention and Control Best Practices - College ...

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL BEST PRACTICES
FOR LONG TERM CARE AND COMMUNITY CARE INCLUDING HEALTH CARE OFFICES AND AMBULATORY CLINICS
for Long Term Care, Home and Community Care including
Health Care Offices and Ambulatory Clinics
Infection Prevention and Control Best Practices
INTRODUCTION
Health care associated infection impacts patient/resident/client outcomes across the continuum (Baker 2004).
Impact includes both morbidity and decreased quality of life. Health care providers and clients/residents are
exposed to infection through inadequate infection prevention and control practices. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has launched its Global Safety Challenge promoting ’Clean Care is Safer Care’, which identifies
the dangers of health care associated infections. The WHO’s ‘Clean Care is Safer Care’ focuses on clean hands,
clean equipment, clean clinical procedures and clean environment. Additional information on WHO’s document
can be found at: http://www.who.int/en/.
The Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance (CCAR) has sponsored the development of best practices for
asepsis and hygiene for long term care (LTC) facilities and community health care settings. The trend toward
shorter hospital stays has resulted in more complex care being provided outside the hospital in LTC facilities and
in the community and home care. These clients often are sicker and more often have invasive devices, require
invasive procedures which makes them more vulnerable to infections, which in turn can cause serious
complications.
This document uses the Canadian Community and Hospital Infection Control Association’s (CHICA-Canada) core
competencies for health care providers as a framework to determine requirements for Infection Prevention and
Control in Long Term Care, Home and Community Care including Health Care Offices and Ambulatory Clinics
(Appendix IV). Reference: (Henderson et al, 2006).
This document will be reviewed and updated every two years and as new information is published.
PURPOSE
This document is to assist the health care provider by providing a succinct guide to clean care in the long term
care setting, and home and community care settings. This document will focus on screening clients/residents,
risk assessment, and risk reduction strategies including clean hands, clean equipment, clean environment and
health care provider and client education.
SCOPE OF DOCUMENT
This document covers long term care facilities (such as nursing homes, homes for the aged, retirement homes,
behavioural health facilities and group homes) and community settings (such as health care practitioner offices
– doctors offices, rehabilitatin therapy clinics, laboratory and diagnostic clinics, dental clinics), community and
home health care providers.
Health care providers are defined as:
An individual who may have the potential to acquire or transmit
an infectious agent during the course of his or her work in
the health care workplace.
[7]
Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance