PLAINFIELD, Ill. — Nobody wants to get Ebola—not healthcare workers, infection control specialists, nor the professionals who process linens for hospitals. So, how do individuals protect themselves in the event that they come into close contact with a patient who has or may have Ebola, or are charged with handling their soiled textiles?
Aaron Gersh, Ph.D., CHESP, MACHE, Healthcare Division vice president at Superior Linen Service, and Rocco Romeo, CS, CPA, CEO of HLS Linen Services, recently presented a webinar hosted by the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) titled Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness for Healthcare Linen Service Providers. The presentation aimed to answer some of the questions that the Ebola situation presents for those who process healthcare textiles.
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING
How are workers expected to keep up on any changing regulations and protocols? Gersh says it starts with frequent training and observation.
“Over time, focus on strict practices can easily be lost, and bad habits will creep in,” he says. “This refers not only to PPE, but hand hygiene, cleaning practices and more.”
And precautions aren’t just something the soil-sort workers need to be trained on and reminded of. Drivers, washroom staff and “anybody who comes into contact” with potentially infected linens also need training and education.
Romeo says the PPE precautions for workers who do not have direct contact with patients should be familiar to most: gloves, masks, face shields, goggles and impervious gowns. “It’s the same precaution utilized for protection of laundry personnel from pathogens spread by blood,” he says.
But if the PPE precautions for Ebola are so drastic at the hospital, why wouldn’t they be at the hospital’s laundry?
“The intent, of course, is that no contaminated Ebola linen should make itself to the laundry since it should be disposed of at the hospital,” Romeo explains. Nevertheless, any educational session for workers should include directions for what to do in case a red bag does mistakenly make its way to the laundry.
For starters, workers should don enhanced PPE for additional protection and place the contaminated linen in a secured area (not in a dock area) in a 55-gallon drum with a lockable lid that is clearly labeled as bio-hazardous waste. Arrangements should be made for a waste disposal company to incinerate the linen under the DOT’s hazardous materials regulations.
“Absolutely never open it,” Gersh advises. “Don’t try to squeeze it, don’t try to feel maybe what’s in it, or take a guess.”
Workers should also contact hospital staff, including security and environmental services, immediately. The CDC and the local health department should also be notified.
“We’ve talked to all of the hospitals and asked them, ‘Who do we call if we see a red bag that needs to be pulled out of there?’” says Gersh. “Do whatever’s necessary to document and record where the red bag came from, [and] when it was received, so that you can be a good partner to your hospitals, because when you tell them that you got their red bag, they’re going to want to know, ‘Can we track it back to where it came from?’”
It’s important that all laundry staff members are in the know about what to do if a red bag “hits your back dock.” And those worried that a cart might also be contaminated are advised to err on the side of caution and treat it as if it is.
“If in doubt, don’t take any chances. With the CDC recommendations on the discarding of linen, the basic thing is, don’t take any chances with that,” Romeo says. He adds that a detailed, written action plan for steps to take if this occurs is very important, and should be shared both with employees and with customers.
Management at textile service companies should keep up with any status changes from the CDC, and a letter should be distributed to customers about Ebola processes and precautions, asking hospitals to inform laundries if they end up with any suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola. This letter should also reference the CDC’s recommendations for discarding potentially infectious linen.
In such situations, with so many players involved, communication is of the utmost importance. Gersh says management should continue to educate staff, and hold them accountable for the information as well.
“Remember: they’re protecting themselves,” he says. “They’re also protecting their families at home. We’ve seen on the news what a lot of these folks have gone through with these quarantines and things like that. This is sheer misery.”
Extra precautions include training employees on utilizing enhanced PPE, showing them protocols for the donning and doffing of PPE, and posting notices on the correct procedures for wearing PPE.
To stay current with changing regulations, managers are encouraged to review the websites of the CDC, WHO and the PHMSA, which provide more detailed information and recommendations on Ebola than what are provided here.
Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].