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Based on observations, interviews, and a review of the hospital's policy, titled, General Hand Hygiene, the hospital failed to ensure acceptable infection control practices were used by staff to reduce the potential risk of cross transmission of infectious agents in the hospital setting for 1 of 1 Nuclear Medicine Technician (NM 1) and 4 of 4 Registered Nurses who failed to use acceptable practices for infection control for hand hygiene in the provision of nursing care and for cleaning medication vials prior to withdrawing medications. (RN E1, RN G6, RN G9, and RN G7)
The findings included:
Nuclear Medicine Department
Observation on 3/13/19 at approximately 9:50 AM revealed Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 in the hot room transferring the radioactive tracer into a syringe wearing gloves. Observations showed Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 touched multiple items in the room potentially contaminating the gloves and closed the door. Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 went to the patient's chairside, and wearing the same gloves opened clean supplies that included a normal saline syringe, an alcohol pad, and a saline lock. Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 attached the normal saline syringe to the lock, and primed the lock with normal saline. Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 removed the soiled gloves and placed the soiled gloves into the trash. Without performing hand hygiene, Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 donned clean gloves. Nuclear Technician 1 placed a tourniquet on the patient's arm, and felt for a vein with gloved fingers. After cleaning the patient's skin with an alcohol pad, Nuclear Technician 1 removed tape from a roll, and used gloved fingers to palpate for a vein again contaminating the site that had been cleaned with alcohol. Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 failed to clean the patient's the skin again with alcohol, and inserted the intravenous catheter into the patient's skin, attached the saline lock, and taped the intravenous catheter in place. Without wiping the saline lock port with disinfectant, Nuclear medicine Technician 1 attached the syringe containing the radioactive tracer, and injected the patient. Without wiping the port with disinfectant, Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 attached the normal saline syringe to the lock and flushed the the lock with normal saline. After completing the injection of the intravenous tracer, Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 removed the intravenous catheter/saline lock and placed a bandage over the site. Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 went back to the hot room to dispose of the supplies, put the code into the door lock mechanism, and touched the door handle, wearing the same gloves used to remove the intravenous catheter. During an interview on 3/13/19 at approximately 10:22 AM, the findings were reviewed with Nuclear Medicine Technician 1 who verified the concerns related to the observation.
On 3/14/19, review of the procedural skills for nursing for saline lock flushing revealed staff should scrub the infusion port with a facility-approved antiseptic solution and allow it to dry before flushing the port.
Review of the hospital's policy, entitled, General Hand Hygiene, revealed Indications for Hand Washing and Hand Antisepsis included the following: .1. Before direct contact with patients or their environment. 2. Before donning sterile gloves or clean exam gloves. 3. After contact with the patient's intact skin. 4. After contact with body fluids, excretions, mucous membranes, non-intact skin and wound dressings if hands are not visibly soiled .6. After contact with inanimate objects, including medical equipment, in the vicinity of the patient. 7. After removing gloves ..
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Registered Nurses
On 3/11/2019, observations during the provision of care from 11:35 a.m. to 11:51 a.m. revealed Registered Nurse E1 failed to perform hand hygiene after removing the soiled gloves used when changing the patient's dressing and before donning clean gloves to continue the patient's dressing change. The finding was verified by Registered Nurse E1 at 11:51 AM on 3/11/2019.
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On 3/11/2019 at 2:30 p.m., random observations of Registered Nurse (RN) G7 in the emergency room revealed RN 7 failed to perform hand hygiene prior to donning clean gloves and insertion of a peripheral intravenous (IV) catheter. During an interview with RN G7 on 3/11/2019 at 2:50 PM, RN G7 verified the finding.
On 3/11/2019 at 2:40 p.m., random observations in the emergency room revealed RN G6 failed to perform hand hygiene prior to donning clean gloves and performing insertion of a peripheral intravenous (IV) catheter, and failed to perform hand hygiene after glove removal following the intravenous catheter insertion. During an interview with RN G6 at 2:45 P.M., RN G 6 verified the findings.
On 3/13/2019 at 9:25 a.m., observations in Neuro Intensive Care Unit revealed that when administering medications to Patient G6, Registered Nurse (RN) G9 failed to disinfect the medication vial septum of Mannitol 50 gms(gram) vial prior to piercing and withdrawing the medication into a syringe. In an interview with RN G9 at 9:30 a.m. on 3/13/2019, RN G9 verified the finding.