Universal Health Precautions

And Methods of Controlling the Spread of Infectious Disease

All staff working at the CYCF must practice appropriate health precautions when changing diapers, dealing with tears, saliva, or nasal discharge, assisting injured children who have incurred open wounds, and assisting children with toileting, in order to protect ourselves and the children from infectious diseases, including all forms of Hepatitis and human immunodeficiency viruses. Universal Health Precautions dictate that we treat all blood and other bodily fluids as potentially capable of transmitting these and other pathogens. We are therefore obligated to exercise the following precautions:

Staff and Students:

  1. Handwashing with friction is the best method of disease control. The steps for effective handwashing are posted in each bathroom. All staff must wash their hands in each of the following circumstances (starred items refer to student classroom aides and Practicum students):
    • before and after your shift
    • before and after eating, handling food, or feeding children
    • after using the bathroom
    • after cleaning soiled areas and equipment
    • after wiping your nose or a child’s nose, or after coughing or sneezing into your hand
    • before and after handling children’s injuries
    • after changing a child’s diaper or assisting in toileting
    • after coming in contact with bodily fluids (including urine, feces, nasal discharge saliva, vomit, and blood)
  2. Staff are expected to wear latex gloves in the following circumstances:
    • on both hands before any diaper change. It is mandatory that gloves be changed, hands washed, and diaper table sprayed down between successive diaper changes.
    • when attending to cuts, scrapes, and other open wounds
    • when assisting with bloody noses and other blood spills
    • when assisting a child with toileting
    • when cleaning up vomit, urine, or other bodily fluids

    Latex gloves are located in each classroom and in the children’s
    bathrooms. Staff members are expected to carry a pair or two in their
    apron for emergencies. Students should not be involved in any incident
    that would require them to wear latex gloves.

  3. Dispose of contaminated gloves, diapers, paper products, etc. as follows:
    • Soiled diapers are to be placed inside gloves (with gloves turned inside out over diapers) or in a plastic bag and disposed of immediately in the appropriate receptacle. Never use hands to open receptacles.
    • Blood-contaminated gauze, paper products, etc. should be either pulled inside gloves or placed in a plastic bag before being disposed of in the appropriate receptacle.
    • Blood, urine, or feces-soiled clothing and accessories must be placed in a plastic bag and returned to the child’s cubby. Soiled clothing may not be washed at the Center.
  4. Staff are advised to wear clean aprons daily. Aprons should be washed at the Center
  5. For staff and Practicum students:When a child is observed putting a toy in his/her mouth, or sneezing or coughing on it, remove the toy and replace it with another. Then wash your hands immediately. Be sure you know where to put soiled toys so that they can be cleaned and sanitized later. Each classroom will designate a place for toys to be cleaned.

    The toy will need to be sanitized before it can be returned to the classroom for children’s use. Periodically wiping toys down with a bleach solution or running them through the sanitizer is required of all programs. Each room should devise a cleaning procedure. Before toys are packed away for the summer, or before they are unpacked at the beginning of the school year, they must be sanitized.

  6. The use of resuscitation mouthpieces is mandated for any resuscitation. Do not use direct mouth-to-mouth contact. Resuscitation mouthpieces are located in the First Aid backpack found in each classroom. Only staff members will be involved in emergencies requiring resuscitation
  7. Sleeping mats must be sanitized daily with bleach/water solution and air-dried. Mats should be stored with the sides that come in contact with the floor touching each other (green side out).

Children:

  1. Handwashing is necessary:
    • –before and after eating
    • –before and after use of the water/sensory table
    • –after outside play
    • –after wiping own nose
    • –after toileting/diapering
    • –before and after participating in cooking activities
    • –after contamination with any bodily fluids

    Please supervise the children while washing their hands. For handwashing to be effective, soap must be used and friction applied for 15 seconds.  Please be sure that they are following the correct procedure.  Be consistent!

  2. All injuries resulting in potential skin breaks (bites, scrapes, etc.) should be washed with antibacterial soap and water by a staff member.