Infection Transmission-Part III
LTC Nursing Assistant Trainer, September 8, 2005
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CNAs should always be aware of the potential for infection transmission. In last week's LTC Nursing Assistant Trainer, we discussed how frequent handwashing and changing gloves help CNAs lower that potential.
If and when a resident contracts a communicable disease, isolation precautions become necessary to prevent transmission to other residents and staff. There are three major types of precautions, described below in this last piece of a three-part series on infection transmission.
Contact precautions
Contact precautions require CNAs to wear gloves when entering a resident's room to provide care. You should always remove your gloves and wash your hands with an antimicrobial agent before leaving the area. You should also wear a gown when entering the room if you anticipate that your clothing could come into contact with the resident, equipment, or contaminated surfaces.
Droplet precautions
Droplet precautions call for wearing a mask when working within three feet of a resident. The policies at some facilities dictate that a CNA must wear a mask whenever entering a resident's room.
Airborne precautions
When airborne precautions are ordered, the resident should be placed in a room with a special ventilation system-one that changes the air in the room frequently by ventilating it through special filters to the outside. CNAs should always keep the door to that resident's room closed to prevent the room air from circulating into hallways.
Special respiratory equipment that filters the air should be worn by anyone entering the room. If at all possible, CNAs who have developed an immunity to the disease should be assigned to thosespecific residents.
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