8123-R

HYGIENE PRECAUTIONS & PROCEDURES REGULATION

The following procedures shall be followed by all employees when providing first aid or otherwise dealing with situations where there is the possibility for exposure to or contact with blood or other body fluids.

1. Except in extraordinary, life-threatening circumstances, all employees must wear rubber gloves to prevent contact with blood or other body fluids when treating or cleaning open cuts, scrapes, abrasions, etc., or spills of blood or other body fluids.

2. All spills of blood or other body fluids should be cleaned up first with soap and water and then with a 10 percent (10%) solution of household bleach. Gloves shall be worn throughout the cleanup process.

3. If possible, feces should be disposed of in a toilet with normal flushing. All disposable materials, including gloves and contaminated material used in the cleanup process, should be placed in a plastic bag and sealed. The sealed plastic bag should then be placed in a second plastic bag and disposed of properly.

4. Mops and reusable items used to cleanup spills should be disinfected with the bleach solution and then washed out before storage or reuse.

5. Toys and/or other personal non-disposable items should be cleaned with warm, soapy water and disinfected with the bleach solution before reuse by another person or being stored away. A normal laundry cycle is adequate for other non-disposable items, including clothing. It is recommended that all non-disposable items be double bagged until they can be cleaned.

6. All persons must wash their hands with soap and water after cleaning up any spill of blood or other body fluid.

7. A supply of rubber gloves, bleach solution and plastic bags ("hygiene kit") shall be maintained in each classroom and in all other locations within the school district where a potential for direct exposure to blood or other body fluids exists, such as the gym, cafeteria, maintenance facility, bus garage, etc. The school nurse shall periodically check the status of each hygiene kit in the building or facility for which she/he is responsible. Bleach solutions will be replaced at least once each semester. An additional supply of rubber gloves shall be maintained in the nursing office in each school building or in the appropriate supervisor's office at other locations.

Adoption date: January 1, 1993

Reviewed on:    September 29, 2003