Infection Control Procedure template

2. Standard precautions

Standard precautions apply to every patient and client contact, every time, regardless of diagnosis or appearance. They are the floor, not the ceiling:

• Treat all blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions (except sweat), non-intact skin, and mucous membranes as potentially infectious.
• Perform hand hygiene at the moments listed below — the single most effective control in this document.
• Select PPE based on the anticipated exposure for the task, not the patient's chart.
• Handle sharps per the sharps procedure: no recapping, disposal at the point of use into the sharps container, containers replaced before full.
• Practice respiratory hygiene: cover coughs, mask symptomatic people where appropriate, and follow [site rules] on staff working while symptomatic.
• Apply transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, airborne) on top of standard precautions when a known or suspected infection requires them — per the current CDC guidance and [site isolation procedure].

3. Hand hygiene

1. 1Clean hands before touching a patient or client, before any clean or aseptic task, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching the patient, and after touching the patient's surroundings — the CDC's moments, learned as a rhythm, not a poster.
2. 2Use alcohol-based hand rub as the default: cover all surfaces of both hands and rub until completely dry.
3. 3Wash with soap and water instead when hands are visibly soiled, after caring for anyone with suspected or confirmed C. difficile or norovirus [per site policy], and after using the restroom.
4. 4Remove rings and wrist items per [site policy], keep nails short, and cover cuts with a waterproof dressing before the shift.
5. 5Perform hand hygiene immediately after removing gloves — gloves are not a substitute for clean hands.
6. 6Keep dispensers stocked and working; report empty dispensers to [name/role] the same day, because an empty dispenser sets the real compliance rate.

4. Personal protective equipment

1. 1Select PPE for the task using the matrix at [location]: gloves for contact with blood, body fluids, or contaminated items; gown when clothing or skin may be soiled; mask and eye protection when splashes or sprays are possible; respirator [type] where airborne precautions apply.
2. 2Don in order: hand hygiene, gown, mask or respirator (seal-check the respirator), eye protection, gloves last — gloves go over the gown cuffs.
3. 3Doff in order: gloves, eye protection, gown, then hand hygiene, then mask or respirator last, touching only the ties or straps — the front of used PPE is contaminated.
4. 4Change PPE between patients and whenever it is torn, soiled, or saturated; never wear the same gloves from one patient to the next.
5. 5Discard used PPE at the point of removal into [waste stream], not carried down the corridor.
6. 6Report PPE shortages to [name/role] immediately — improvising PPE is how exposures happen, and OSHA requires the employer to provide it at no cost to workers with occupational exposure.

5. Cleaning and disinfection

1. 1Clean before you disinfect: disinfectant applied over visible soil does not work.
2. 2Use the products on the approved list at [location], at label dilution, and honor the wet contact time on the label — a surface wiped dry early was not disinfected.
3. 3Clean high-touch surfaces (bed rails, door handles, call bells, faucets, shared keyboards) at [frequency] and between patients or clients.
4. 4Clean shared equipment (blood pressure cuffs, hoists, thermometers, wheelchairs) between every use per the equipment matrix at [location].
5. 5Handle laundry as potentially contaminated: minimal agitation, no sorting in care areas, bagged at the point of use per [site procedure].
6. 6Clean blood and body fluid spills immediately per the spill procedure: PPE on, absorb, clean, disinfect with [approved product], and dispose into [waste stream].
7. 7Sign the cleaning schedule as tasks complete — the signed schedule is the evidence the routine happened.

6. Exposure incidents

1. 1For a sharps injury or bite that breaks skin: wash the wound with soap and running water immediately — do not squeeze it.
2. 2For a splash to eyes, nose, or mouth: irrigate with water or saline for [duration per site procedure].
3. 3Report to the [person in charge] immediately — post-exposure treatment for some pathogens is time-critical, so this is minutes, not end-of-shift.
4. 4Seek evaluation per the exposure control plan: [occupational health provider / emergency department], with the source information the assessor will need.
5. 5Record the incident on the exposure log and incident report; where OSHA recordkeeping applies, [name/role] handles the recordable determination.
6. 6Debrief within [days]: what allowed the exposure, and what changes — device, technique, staffing, or this procedure itself.

7. Records and review

Training records, cleaning sign-offs, exposure logs, and incident reports are kept at [system/location] for [period] — exposure and medical records for the retention period the exposure control plan specifies. They are what an OSHA inspector, licensing surveyor, or attorney will ask for first.

This procedure is reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually], after every exposure incident or outbreak, and whenever CDC guidance or the services {{org.name}} provides change. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].