3
Preventing dust minimizes patient exposures. ............................................................. 36
The primary function of a barrier is to control the air quality in occupied areas.36
Mobile containment cubes are used for inspection and short-term cavity work.37
To enclose a larger work area a soft wall barrier system can be used. ................. 38
An entry must be created to access the work area. ...................................................... 38
When a longer-term barrier is needed a hard wall barrier or rigid wall is used.39
Anterooms separate work area from the patient occupied area of the hospital.40
An anteroom is as a changing room to put on Patient Protective Apparel. ......... 40
Personal protective apparel is worn to prevent the spread of construction dust.41
Removing PPA properly is important so dust is not spread. .................................... 42
Typical procedure to follow when entering and exiting through an anteroom: 42
Hand washing and proper cleaning of clothing are important. ............................... 43
Controlling the air pressure can prevent the spread of dust. ................................... 45
A HEPA negative air machine is used to pull air from the work area. ................... 45
How to ensure negative air pressure is being maintained. ....................................... 46
Good housekeeping is essential to minimizing the spread of dust. ........................ 47
Sticky mats/walk off mats are used to remove dust. ................................................... 48
Trash/debris removal requires special handling. ........................................................ 48
The movement of equipment, tools and materials requires special handling. .. 49
Hospitals contain hazards that could affect a worker’s health and safety. .......... 49
Exposure to bloodborne pathogens are a common biohazard to workers. ........ 50
Lead and asbestos hazards may also affect workers in hospitals. .......................... 51
It is not uncommon to find mold during hospital construction work. .................. 51
Medical equipment in a hospital can be dangerous for construction workers. . 52
Pay attention to your surrounding inside the hospital. .............................................. 53
Hospitals expose you to unique hazards not encountered on a typical jobsite. 53
ILSM are put in place to protect the safety of patients, visitors, and staff who
work in the hospital. .......................................................................................................... 54
4
BACKGROUND
Construction work in a healthcare facility such as a hospital, or other occupied
facilities such as office buildings and schools may require special procedures,
equipment and precautions for performing the work. Construction, renovation and
demolition activities can affect hospital patients, visitors and can even cause new
infections. Dust from construction, renovation and demolition activities can be a
hazard for patients, healthcare workers, and visitors. Dust is especially a risk for
patients with compromised immune systems.
To help prevent further injury from construction dust, hospitals use a system
called Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) to decide how to protect their
patients, staff, and visitors during a construction project. The ICRA will determine
the level of barriers, dust control, cleaning, and patient protective apparel you
must use during your construction project. You may have to build barriers,
maintain negative air pressure inside your work area, or use special air filtering
equipment. You may have to put up a temporary plastic sheeting barrier while
you build a long-term rigid barrier behind it. The ICRA may require you to spend
more time putting up barriers to isolate your work area than it takes to actually
perform the work.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Purpose of the instructor guide
This guide is designed to provide instructors/trainers with the information needed to
successfully conduct the Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) Awareness training.
Teaching Materials
Instructor Guide - Includes:
o
Thumbnails and numbers of corresponding PowerPoint slides
o
Notes for each slide
PowerPoint slides - Include:
o
Notes for each slide
Participant Manual
Handouts
Suggestion for time management
It takes approximately 6- 8 hours to complete the ICRA Awareness training. The
schedule has flexibility built into it to allow for site specific information to be included.
Site specific information may include PowerPoints and written materials provided by the
employer of the hospital administration.
5
Preparing for Class
Classroom
Set up an LCD projector and computer. Click through the PowerPoint to ensure
equipment is working properly.
Each participant should have an application, participant manual, course evaluation, note
pad and pen. Ask participants to fill out the application form. Explain the evaluation form
is being distributed to them at the beginning of the course so they can write down their
comments and suggestions as the class is being conducted.
Distribute a pre-test to each participant and tell them this is designed to help you
understand the level of experience and knowledge within the class. This pre-test will not
be graded or used to determine if a participant passes the course. The pre-test should
not take more than 10 minutes to complete. Collect the pre-tests and determine what
information participants already know and what they don’t know. Discard the pre
-tests
when you are done reviewing them.
Hands-on
Set up the mobile containment cube to make sure all parts are available and working.
Disassemble the containment cube and place out of the way of the classroom. The
participants will construct the containment cube as part of their hands-on activities.
Collect samples of other materials used on ICRA construction projects; sticky mats,
patient protective apparel and soft-wall barrier components (If available). Place the items
in the classroom for demonstration/show and tell.
