Home Health Infection Control: A Manual for Compliance and Quality

The Conditions of Participation (CoP) expect every agency to maintain an effective infection control program as part of its overall quality assessment and performance improvement efforts. An infection control program in homecare is also enforced by OSHA, CDC, and state and local laws. To maintain quality and compliance, it is crucial for every agency to implement such a program.

Home Health Infection Control: A Manual for Compliance and Quality provides all of the information, forms, and tools that an agency needs to ensure it has a compliant infection control program. This updated manual is not just a narrative of what an agency needs to do; it provides customizable policies and procedures in order to create a compliant program that fits the agency's needs.

In addition to infection control policies and procedures, this manual includes competency training for agency staff as well as training for patients, who have a direct role in preventing infection.

This manual will provide:

- Everything an agency needs to ensure it has a compliant infection control program
- Competency training for staff
- Patient/family education on infection: expected outcome of treatment, preventing the spread of infection to family members or caretakers, and avoiding overuse of antibiotics
- Employee vaccination recommendations from the Infection Action Coalition
- Vaccination recommendations specific to elders (tetanus, zoster, pneumonia)
- Up-to-date CDC and OSHA guidance to ensure your program is current
- Information on new infection control issues, including MRSA infections and wound vac procedures

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Purposes and Objectives
Chapter 2: Policies and Procedures
Chapter 3: Staff Education and Competency
Chapter 4: Patient Education
Chapter 5: Quality Improvement and Infection Control
Chapter 6: Resources and References