Social services Task List
ADMINISTRATOR IN TRAINING MANUAL
LAUNDRY AND HOUSEKEEPING
Module 10
Stan Mucinic, LNHA
LAUNDRY AND HOUSEKEEPING
1. Housekeeping and laundry services are an integral part of a facility infection control program.
2. It is very important that staff in these 2 departments follow safety protocols for their own welfare, since they handle bodily fluids and materials that may contain harmful pathogens, including the HIV virus.
3. Nursing homes are required by OSHA to follow universal precautions developed by the Centers for Disease Control.
4. Universal precautions require staff to use hand washing, gloves and protective gown when in contact with patient skin, bedding or bodily fluids.
5. The Laundry department is responsible to wash blankets, linen, towels, resident clothing and pillow cases.
6. Housekeeping is responsible to clean and sanitize floors, countertops, bathroom fixtures, and staff offices. They are responsible to keep the building clean and odor free.
7. The housekeeping staff uses special germicides that are capable of destroying the HIV virus as well as other pathogens.
8. The laundry area should be divided into 2 areas – an area to sort soiled laundry and the an area to dry and process clean laundry.
9. The laundry staff collect the soiled linens and towels that are collected by the nurse aides and deposited into holding rooms where they are then transported to the laundry in closed containers.
10. The laundry staff also collect resident personal laundry from their rooms and transport these items to the laundry room in closed containers.
11. Laundry staff must wear gloves and protective aprons when handling soiled laundry. The soiled laundry should be loaded into the dryers after being washed and then when dry, is folded and then placed on the linen carts for dispersal.
12. Usually when the nurse aides begin their shift, they come to the laundry and pick up their carts which should be loaded with sufficient linens for the number of residents they have.
13. If the facility has clean linen storage rooms, then laundry staff will keep those rooms stocked and the nurse aides can pull the supplies they need from the closets.
14. When transporting clean and soiled linens and trash, the containers used to transport these items must have lids or be covered in some way or the facility will be tagged.
15. Also, staff must not wear gloves in the hallway or from one room to another. The facility will be cited for infection control violations.
16. Nursing aides may double or triple glove their hands so they strip off one pair of gloves and then have a “fresh” pair underneath ready to go when they do the next resident. This not allowed. The correct procedure is to remove and discard gloves and then wash hands before putting on another pair of gloves to care for the next resident. This minimizes cross contamination.
17. Also be diligent if you notice aides or other staff placing clean linens on a counter top, over bed table or bedspread and then move the linens to the other side of the room and place them on the bed or in an resident’s closet. This is cross contamination.
18. Landry staff must not leave the laundry unattended when the dryers are running.
19. The dryers are a real and ever present fire hazard and if the lint in the dryers catch fire, the dryer will start a fire and ignite surrounding linen and other materials.
20. The laundry room is NEVER TO BE LEFT UNATTENDED. Laundry room fires are very common.
21. Laundry staff must clean the lint filters in the dryers every 2 hours like clock work.
22. You should do an inspection of the lint filters and make sure that staff is cleaning them.
23. The laundry should have a hand washing sink and a working eye wash station.
24. The eye wash station is essential in case an employee splashes a chemical in their face and eyes.
25. You should also have an updated copy of the MSDS in the laundry.
26. Inspect the clean linen and linen supplies and check for sheets and linens that are stained, frayed, torn or ripped and make sure those items are trashed.
27. Assess whether the facility has sufficient linens to meet demands.
28. You need clean linen supplies on the floor while you have soiled linens in the machines or waiting to be washed or stacked in the soiled linen rooms.
29. You do not want complaints from staff and residents that they cannot find a towel when they need it.
30. Ascertain if the laundry manager orders replacement linens on a regular basis to replace lost and unusable supplies.
31. Assess whether the facility has sufficient washers and dryers to have sufficient supplies on hand. Most laundries operate on nearly a 24 hour basis washing linens, towels, blankets and resident personal laundry.
32. The national average is 10 pounds of laundry per person per pay. In a 120 bed facility that is 1200 pounds of laundry, each day and every day.
33. Machines do wear our out and break down, so you want to keep close tabs when one of your laundry machines is out of commission. That means the other machines need to pick up the slack to wash the same amount of laundry. You may need to extend operation hours to make up for the lost capacity.
34. Make sure those repairs of the washers and dryers are done as soon as possible, and determine when you need new or newer machines if they require constant repairs and down time. This will l just wear out the other machines that much quicker.
35. Ask the laundry and housekeeping manager if they have enough washers and dryers.
36. Ask them what specific challenges they face on a daily basis.
37. Check the survey reports to determine of the laundry was cited for any violations.
38. If so, what was the plan of correction?
39. Is the facility following the plan of correction?
40. Do not label resident clothes with a room number. Room numbers changes. Have the residents full name written on labels that can be pressed on the inside of the clothes with a hot iron.
41. This will cut down on lost or misplaced personal clothing.
42. If clothing is lost, reimburse the family for the lost property and document it.
43. Lost resident property is a serious matter and most licensing agencies expect that the facility will reimburse the resident.
44. If you have a resident who doesn’t have the money to buy decent clothes, then buy them clothes and document it and take credit for it.
HOUSEKEEPING
45. Housekeeping must clean resident rooms daily.
46. Housekeepers should wipe down counters, floors, table tops, door knobs, telephones, the sink and the bath tub
47. House keepers empty trash baskets and keep the resident room clean and smelling good.
48. Make sure housekeepers knock before entering a resident room as well as all staff. Get staff to do that automatically without thinking, and reinforce that routine day after day so when surveyors are in the building staff will do the right thing.
49. The most common tag is not knocking on resident room doors and asking permission to enter.
50. Remember to start preparing for the next survey 10 minutes after the surveyors exit the most recent survey.
51. You should follow the housekeeping staff and go into a room after they have cleaned it and assess the effectiveness of their efforts.
52. Check under the beds, above ledges and behind the furniture for crud, dust and debris. Run your fingers over the countertops to see if they are clean, Are the waste baskets dirty and smelly? Is the resident laundry basket clean and free of odors? Check in the bathroom behind the toilet. Is there any fresh or dried fecal matter on the walls or floors?. That is a tag right there.
53. While the housekeeper are working in the resident room, check to see if their housekeeping cart is locked and all chemicals are safely stored away. Is the mop basket with dirty water left on the cart within reach of residents? Is the housekeeping cart clean?
54. The housekeepers have janitor closets around the facility where they can fill and empty their buckets and keep supplies. Make sure these closets are clean inside and the door is locked at all times. Both are tags if a surveyor finds the door unlocked or the closet a mess.
55. You should check that medication carts are locked each time you pass by and that the carts are cleaned at least once a month.
56. The national average for staffing housekeepers is 1 hour per 1000 SF. An 80,000 SF facility would require 80 hours of housekeeper time, or 10 housekeepers (80 hours/8 hours per person is 10 staff people.
57. You should check the mop buckets and see what they are using to mop the floors and clean the rooms.
58. The chemicals they use are different colors.
59. If the cleaning fluid in the mop bucket is clear, they are sanitizing with clear water.
60. Many housekeepers, laundry staff and kitchen workers cannot read.
61. That can also include nursing aides as well.
62. Do not assume that people are doing what they are supposed to do.
63. The important point is that if housekeeping staff is sanitizing with water or the wrong chemical, then,you have a serious infection control issue that you want to find before the surveyors discover it. I have seen these situations before. They happen because no one is checking.
List any topics for Discussion.
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