Infection Prevention & Control
The goal of Ross Memorial Hospital's Infection Prevention and Control program is the prevention of infections in Hospital patients and staff and the control of infections should they occur.
Infection Control Precautions
To prevent the spread/transmission of infections to other patients, staff and the hospital environment, it is sometimes necessary to place patients in Isolation Precautions. This may mean relocating the patient to a special isolation room, with an Isolation Precautions sign placed at the entrance to alert all staff, doctors and visitors that they must wear a gown and gloves or a mask (depending on the infection or bacteria).
If a patient is placed in a room marked Isolation Precautions, visitors will be asked to follow the instructions of staff and may be asked to wear a gown, gloves, or mask, depending on the situation. It is important that the gown and gloves or mask are removed before the visitor leaves the room.
When leaving the isolation room, hands must be washed after the removal of gown and gloves (and mask as needed), which prevents the spread of infections into the hospital environment.
These precautions remain in place until there is no risk of the infection spreading to others.
Handwashing
Good hand hygiene is the single most important way for all staff, patients and visitors to control the spread of germs. Regularly cleaning your hands using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water lowers your chance of getting a hospital-acquired infection by 20 to 40 per cent.
We encourage you and your visitors to use the alcohol-based hand rub pump on your bedside table. Be sure to clean your hands:
- when entering or exiting the Hospital and your room • before and after eating and drinking
- after using the restroom
- after blowing your nose,coughing
- after touching Hospital surfaces such as bed rails, bedside tables,doorknobs,remote controls,or the phone.
It only takes 20 seconds of using either soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub to kill the germs that cause infections.
To effectively wash your hands with alcohol rub:
- Apply 1-2 pumps of alcohol rub (an amount the size of a loonie) into one hand
- Spread the alcohol based hand rub over your hands and continue rubbing for at least 15 seconds.
If using soap and water:
- Wet your hands
- Use enough soap to lather thoroughly,and continue washing for at least 20 seconds
- Thoroughly rinse the soap from your hands
- Dry hands by blotting them gently with a paper towel
- Turn off taps with the paper towel in order to avoid picking up germs left by dirty hands on the taps.
Whichever method you use, pay special attention to:
- your finger tips
- the area between your fingers
- the backs of your hands
- the base of the thumbs
If you have a cut, rash or cracked skin, or wear jewellery, nails longer than 3-4 mm (1/4 inch), nail polish or artificial nails, it can be very difficult to clean your hands properly. For more information, talk to a doctor or nurse.
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Fact Sheet