Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. 157 PATIENT AND FAMILY EDUCATION HANDOUT HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AND WASTE DISPOSAL • Proper disposal of waste in the home will insure safety and infection control for you and others, such as your family. Please follow these steps: • Always wear disposable gloves when handling blood, other body fluids or body wastes. • Wash any surfaces or equipment that have been contaminated with blood, other body fluids or body waste, with soap and water; then clean with diluted household bleach (10 parts water to 1 part bleach). Use paper towels - not reusable sponges. Always wear disposable gloves. Put disposable items into a plastic-lined bag, then in another garbage bag. Remove gloves, making sure you do not touch the outside of the gloves with your bare hands and discard them into the second garbage bag. Be sure all bags are closed securely and finally discard them into a trash can with a tight-fitting lid. • Put all needles, syringes and related equipment in a puncture-resistant safety container or sharps container. Needles should not be recapped, bent, broken, removed from syringes or otherwise handled. Place the safety/sharps container in a garbage bag and then into a trash can with a tight-fitting lid. Some localities may have regulations and special sites to dispose of the safety/sharps containers. Follow local laws and regulations for disposal of safety/sharps containers. • Carefully pour blood and body wastes down the drain to avoid splashing, or flush down a toilet connected to a sanitary sewage system. (In rural areas, consult your County Health Department for proper disposal.) • Put tissues, soiled dressing, used tampons, sanitary pads and diapers into a plastic-lined bag. This bag should be placed in another garbage bag and then into a trash can with a tight- fitting lid. Follow local regulations for solid waste management. • Put chemotherapy waste (needles, syringes, used containers and IV tubing) in a puncture- resistant "Chemotherapy Container". Place this safety container in a garbage bag and then into a trash can with a tight-fitting lid. Dispose of chemotherapy waste according to local regulations for solid waste management. • Medical waste may require special pick-up in your town. Check with your local city government for further information and instructions.