• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Quick tips to stop infections during construction

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, June 2, 2004

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Ambulatory Safety Monitor!

Construction projects can increase the risk of patients or healthcare workers acquiring infections. Taking preventive action during construction jobs is one of the best ways to prevent these healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), says Tim Keane, president of Environmental Infection Control Consultants in Chalfont, PA.

The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines suggest organizations use preventive strategies to reduce the risk of transmitting environmental microbes and protect patients and workers at your facility during construction projects, says Joan M. Wideman, MS, MT(ASCP)SLS, CIC, of JMW Consulting in Clawson, MI. The JCAHO 2004 environment of care standards address construction projects among other issues. Renovations and construction projects can affect a patient's outcome, says Wideman.

When JCAHO surveyors conduct a facility Life Safety Code(r) tour, they will look for any weaknesses in the design and maintenance of your facility. This can be compromised if you have construction or renovation projects going on, so it is important to take extra precautions during that time, says Wideman.

Construction team should be diverse
When planning how you will control and contain infectious agents during construction projects, create a multidisciplinary team that includes people experienced with infection control, engineering, employee health and safety, and risk management, says Wayne Hansen, PE, REA, CEM, director of engineering for Mintie Corporation in Los Angeles.

Before any construction starts at your facility, determine how the contractors will access the site. Make sure their access is not through a patient-sensitive area.

Contain dirt and dust in patient-care areas
If a construction project takes place in a patient-care unit, use some sort of containment, Hansen says. He recommends temporary barriers that are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up and break down. Several companies offer tentlike containment units for this purpose.

There are three levels of protection for risk areas during construction projects, Hansen says. They include the following areas:

• Low-level: Office areas, medical records, facility leaders' offices
• Mid-level: Medical/surgical units, cafeterias
• High-level: Coronary or oncology-care areas

It pays to err on the side of caution, especially in high-level areas, Hansen says. Insist that contractors wear protective suits when in construction zones to keep them from tracking dirt throughout the facility. In addition, make sure work crews use covered bins to move discarded materials and debris, he adds. Ensure that your infection-control and engineering departments have authority over these projects, Hansen adds.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Ambulatory Safety Monitor!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive