Current through Reg. 49, No. 52; December 27, 2024
(a) A facility must develop, implement,
enforce, and maintain an infection prevention and control program that provides
a safe, sanitary, and comfortable environment and helps prevent development and
transmission of disease and infection.
(1)
The infection prevention and control program must include policies and
procedures that reduce the risk of spreading communicable diseases in the
facility, including:
(A) wearing personal
protective equipment, such as gloves, a gown, or a mask when called on for
anticipated exposure;
(B) properly
cleaning hands after using the lavatory, before and after touching another
client, and in between glove changes;
(C) cleaning and disinfecting environmental
surfaces, including doorknobs, handrails, light switches, control panels, and
remote controls;
(D) using
universal precautions for blood and bodily fluids; and
(E) disposing of soiled items (such as used
tissues, wound dressings, incontinence briefs, and soiled linens) from the
environment.
(2) Staff
must handle, store, process, and transport linens to prevent the spread of
infection.
(3) If the facility
knows or suspects an employee has contracted a communicable disease that is
transmissible to clients through food handling or direct client care, the
facility must exclude the employee from providing these services for the
applicable period of communicability.
(4) The facility must maintain evidence of
compliance with local and state health codes and ordinances regarding employee
and client health status.
(5) The
facility must immediately report the name of any client with a reportable
disease as specified in 25 TAC Chapter 97, Subchapter A (relating to Control of
Communicable Diseases), to the city health officer, county health officer, or
health unit director having jurisdiction, and implement appropriate infection
control procedures as directed by the local health authority.
(b) The facility must comply with
rules regarding special waste in 25 TAC Chapter 1, Subchapter K (relating to
Definition, Treatment, and Disposition of Special Waste from Health
Care-Related Facilities).
(c) The
facility's infection prevention and control program must include a policy to
minimize the risk for transmission of tuberculosis (TB). The facility must
screen a new employee for TB within two weeks of employment, according to
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention screening guidelines and any
additional guidance from HHSC.
(1) The
facility must provide annual TB education to employees that must include the
following topics:
(A) TB risk
factors;
(B) the signs and symptoms
of TB disease; and
(C) TB infection
control policies and procedures.
(2) The facility may request evidence of
compliance with this requirement from a person who provides services under an
outside resource contract.
