Safety, Infection Control, and Emergency Response
Infection control
Hand hygiene is the single most effective way to break the chain of infection. Use soap and water when hands are visibly soiled, before eating, after toileting, and after caring for a resident with C. difficile; use alcohol-based rub otherwise. Wear gloves for contact with blood, body fluids, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes - and clean your hands after removing them. Standard precautions apply to every resident, whatever their diagnosis. Contact precautions (MRSA, C. diff, scabies) mean gown and gloves with dedicated equipment; droplet precautions (influenza) add a mask; airborne precautions (tuberculosis, measles) require an N95 and a negative-pressure room. Nursing assistants clean and disinfect; they do not sterilize.
Safety
Keep the bed in the lowest position, wheels locked, and the call light within reach. A side rail becomes a restraint when a resident cannot get out of bed safely; restraints need an order, must be the least restrictive option, and require frequent checks of circulation and range of motion. Never leave a resident alone in a bathtub.
Fire: RACE - Rescue, Alarm, Contain, Extinguish or Evacuate; PASS for the extinguisher - Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. With oxygen in use: post no-smoking signs, keep flame at least six feet away, and avoid petroleum-based ointments.
Emergencies
For choking, encourage coughing first; if the airway is blocked, give abdominal thrusts and call for help. Adult CPR is 30 compressions to 2 breaths at 100–120 per minute, about 2 inches deep, allowing full recoil. Turn on the AED and follow its prompts. During a seizure, protect the head, do not restrain, put nothing in the mouth, time it, and turn the resident on their side afterward.
Trap: "First" questions usually mean safety and calling for help - not documentation.
Rule of thumb: hands before and after every resident contact, and again after glove removal.