Code of Maine Rules
10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL
Chapter 113 - Regulations Governing the Licensing and Functioning of Assisted Housing Programs (includes Assisted Living Programs, Residential Care Facilities, and Private Non-Medical Institutions) (formerly 10-149 Ch. 113)
Assisted Housing Programs: Infection Prevention and Control
Section 144-113-2 - Infection Prevention and Control
Universal Citation: 10 ME Code Rules ยง 144-113-2
Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A. Infection Prevention and Control (IPC). The facility must establish, implement, and maintain an Infection Prevention and Control Plan (IPCP) to control the transmission of infectious diseases amongst residents, staff, visitors, and other individuals providing services under a contractual arrangement.
A.1 The facility must employ or contract with a person with certification or training in IPC to oversee the development and implementation of the IPCP.
a. The certification or training must include
the following content areas, at a minimum:
i.
Standard precautions;
ii.
Transmission-based precautions;
iii. Respiratory protection; and
iv. Use of PPE and source control
measures.
A.2 The facility must develop a written IPCP. The development process must include:
a. A risk assessment and overall program
review. The risk assessment and program review must include:
i. Identification of resources necessary to
care for residents during day-to-day operations and emergencies;
ii. Identification of any policies/protocols
that need to be developed; and iii. Review of current Maine Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (MeCDC) standards and federal Center for Disease Control
(CDC) guidelines. The facility should keep a log noting specifically what
guidelines were utilized, and identification of any changes needed to meet
those standards.
b. The
facility must review and update the plan and all related policies/protocols
annually, and whenever there is any change or plan for change that would
require a substantial modification to any part of the current IPCP.
c. The plan must be updated as needed to
reflect current Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (MeCDC)
standards and federal Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. The facility
should keep a log noting specifically what guidelines were utilized, and
identification of any changes needed to meet those standards.
A.3 The IPCP must include policies and procedures for the prevention of the spread of any infectious disease, including:
a. Requirements for staff to
perform hand hygiene before and after each direct and indirect resident contact
for which handwashing is indicated by nationally recognized professional
practice;
b. Use of PPE and source
control measures;
c. A respiratory
protection program;
d.
Identification of the adequate amount of PPE to have on hand at all times, and
measures to take when PPE is not readily available;
e. The conduct of environmental cleaning and
disinfection, specifying the cleaning agents and processes to be used;
f. Documentation of random visual
observations of staff use of PPE throughout an outbreak of an infectious
disease;
g. Notification of the
MeCDC, all other residents and their primary family contact, staff, and the
Division of Licensing and Certification (DLC) in the event of an outbreak of a
notifiable disease;
h.
Transmission-based precautions and isolation of the resident, when the MeCDC
determines that a resident needs isolation to prevent the spread of
infection;
i. Work-exclusion
processes and steps to be taken in the event of a staff or resident exposure,
when the type of infectious disease requires instituting specific work
restrictions;
j. An exposure
control plan to address potential hazards posed by blood and body fluids and
other potentially infectious material (OPIM) or infectious diseases;
k. A crisis staffing plan;
l. A process for reporting notifiable
diseases to the MeCDC; and
m. A
policy requiring consultation with the MeCDC in the management of any outbreak
of a reportable infectious disease or novel virus.
A.4 The facility must implement any recommendations of the MeCDC, including but not limited to:
a. Universal testing and resident cohorting,
when applicable;
b. Practices for
safe visitation or alternatives to in-person visits, and practices to assure
resident safety during departures from the facility;
c. Reasonable methods and processes to allow
residents to communicate with family and friends in ways that maintain resident
safety;
d. Conditions and protocols
for screening all full and part-time staff, all essential healthcare
individuals who enter the facility (such as hospice staff, physicians, etc.),
and any other individual entering the facility.
A.5 The facility must provide education on IPC to all staff at hire.
a. The training
must include:
i. Standard Precautions,
including:
1. Hand hygiene, which must
include procedures to be followed by staff involved in direct patient care or
food preparation;
2. Bloodborne
pathogens;
3. The proper selection
and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); to include putting on (donning)
and taking off (doffing); and
4.
Respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette;
ii. Environmental cleaning and disinfection;
iii. Transmission-based
precautions; and iv. Sharps/injection safety, including immediate actions to
take when exposure to blood or other potentially infectious material (OPIM)
occurs.
b. Documentation
of staff training and observed to be competency in Infection Prevention and
Control must be maintained in each employee's personnel file.
c. In the event of an outbreak of an
infectious disease, the facility must provide a refresher training to all
employees.
d. The facility must
maintain a copy of the IPC training curriculum utilized to provide education to
staff.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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