Infection control has been a hot-button issue for several years, and many centers have been cited under F441. Are you one of them? Good news! The CDC has developed a tool for evaluating our current processes and identifying if there are any gaps in our protocols. The tool is intended to assist in assessing infection control programs and practices in nursing homes and other long-term care settings.
If possible, direct observations of infection control practices are encouraged. To facilitate the assessment, health departments should share this tool with centers in advance of their annual visit.
The CDC Infection Program Assessment Tool
The infection program assessment tool is broken down into 4 sections, including:
- Section 1: Facility Demographics
- Section 2: Infection Control Program and Infrastructure
- Section 3: Direct Observation of Facility Practices
- Section 4: Infection Control Guidelines and Other Resources
As with any tool, it's important how you use it, so be sure to review the entire packet before you begin. Thanks to the CDC for such a comprehensive program tool—hopefully we'll all benefit from the insight! You can get the program assessment tool at the CDC website.
Infections in Your Center
Do you have infections that go undetected until a negative outcome is experienced? Take a look at your fall trending and tracking. Many centers experience an automatic uptick in the winter flu season. Is this a coincidence, or could it be related to latent infections or the deconditioning our seniors experience post-infection?
As you review your current infection control program, include a review of your falls history—especially if an injury was sustained. Ask yourself the question Why? as in root cause analysis.
If a resident experienced a fall while actively symptomatic of infection, it's easier to identify the cause. But what about the resident who fell a week prior to being symptomatic? Were there subtle changes (e.g., lethargy, loss of interest, loss of appetite, etc.) that may have been missed?
Master root cause analysis: Check out our on-demand webinar.
Now take a look at the post infection timeframe. Remember, infection can rob our seniors of their independence for weeks or months. Many seniors, even community-bound, active seniors, become debilitated from acute illness such as pneumonia.
Keep in mind that data shows a senior will lose 2% of their overall strength each day they're in bed. So, if a resident has pneumonia and is bed-bound for 10 days, they've lost 20% of their overall strength. Wow. Those are staggering statistics!
Mitigating Infection-Related Falls
So what can we do? Start by slowing down, and really feeling what's happening in your center. Talk with your staff about infection symptoms, SBAR tools, stop-and-watch processes, etc. Then consider having a restorative assessment performed on any resident who has succumbed to illness and is sedentary for more than a 24-hour period. This may assist in identifying deconditioning early in the process and assist in preventing the next fall.
QA Reader can assist with the tracking and trending of these types of falls so you can do more important things with root cause analysis and predictive opportunities. Check out our on-demand root cause analysis webinar to get the details.
