10A NCAC 13D .2209      INFECTION CONTROL

(a)  A facility shall establish and maintain an infection control program for the purpose of providing a safe, clean and comfortable environment and preventing the transmission of diseases and infection.

(b)  Under the infection control program, the facility shall decide what procedures, such as isolation techniques, are needed for individual patients, investigate episodes of infection and attempt to control and prevent infections in the facility.

(c)  The facility shall maintain records of infections and of the corrective actions taken.

(d)  The facility shall ensure communicable disease testing as required by 10A NCAC 41A, "Communicable Disease Control" which is incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments. Copies of these Rules may be obtained at no charge by contacting the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Tuberculosis Control Branch, 1902 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1902. Screening shall be done upon admission of all patients being admitted from settings other than hospitals, nursing facilities or combination facilities. Staff shall be screened within seven days of the hire date. The facility shall ensure tuberculosis screening annually thereafter for patients and staff.

(e)  All cases of reportable disease as defined by 10A NCAC 41A "Communicable Disease Control" and outbreaks consisting of two or more linked cases of disease transmission shall be reported to the local health department.

(f)  The facility shall use isolation precautions for any patient deemed appropriate by its infection control program and as recommended by the following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms In Healthcare Settings, 2006, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/ar/MDROGuideline2006.pdf and 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions:  Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings, http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/2007ip/2007isolationprecautions.html.

(g)  The facility shall prohibit any employee with a communicable disease or infected skin lesion from direct contact with patients or their food, if direct contact is the mode of transmission of the disease.

(h)  The facility shall require all staff to use hand washing technique as indicated in the Centers for Disease Control, "Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings, Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee and the HICPAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA Hand Hygiene Task Force".  This information can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5116a1.htm.

(i)  All linen shall be handled, store, processed and transported so as to prevent the spread of infection.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 131E‑104; 131E-113;

Eff. January 1, 1996;

Amended Eff. July 1, 2012;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. March 22, 2015.