Supervisors are responsible for correcting unsafe work conditions.
They do this by understanding the problem and taking action.
The following video shows how a supervisor puts in place work practices and interventions
to minimize the risk of staff exposure to a possible infectious disease.
It is now confirmed that a deadly superbug that has spread through this long term care facility
has caused the deaths of three seniors over the past week.
Twenty one other seniors have also fallen ill.
Preliminary reports indicate that some staff members have also come down with symptoms -
two of them serious enough to require hospitalization.
Although the source of this outbreak has yet to be pinpointed,
there are growing concerns that a new strain of this disease may start spreading throughout this community.
This is Vicky Chalmers reporting live for Channel 8 News.
How could this have been avoided?
3 weeks earlier…
Kim, something isn’t right with some of the residents.
The fever and diarrhea that Mrs. Smith came down with yesterday seems to be spreading.
How many people are we talking about?
Mrs. Newell, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Chan, and of course Mrs. Smith. It appears to be contained to C wing.
Okay, this could be a problem. It sounds like we might have an outbreak on our hands.
Before anyone else gets sick we need to put some procedures in place.
Can you please go and tell the staff from C wing that I want to meet with them in about 15 minutes to go over procedures?
We don’t want more residents getting sick and we also need to protect the staff.
Since I’m in charge today, it’s my responsibility.
So, I will call the Director of Care now and go over the procedures we need to follow.
I also need to contact Public Health.
Okay. I’ll go and get everyone. Thank you.
Okay, as everyone likely knows by now, four residents on this wing have come down with similar symptoms over the past 24 hours.
I’m concerned that we have the start of an outbreak.
Because I’m in charge today, I need to make sure that we protect both residents and staff.
I am going to limit the number of staff that are assigned to care for the four sick residents.
This is so that we minimize the risk of cross contamination between sick residents and those who are not ill.
Those not assigned to care for these sick residents are not permitted to enter their rooms.
I will be posting GI precaution signs on Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Newell, Mr. Higgins and Mr. Chan’s rooms.
The sick residents will need to stay in their rooms until further notice, okay?
For those assigned to provide care to our sick residents, I want you to use routine practice,
and wear gloves and gowns. And a reminder to everyone: wash your hands before and after providing care to anyone.
Barry, can you alert housekeeping and let them know that we have a potential GI outbreak on our hands?
I’ll be able to give them more information once I’ve spoken with infection control and get further directions.
I’ll contact the on-call doctor to get direction on care for the sick patients.
Last thing: we’ll need to restrict visitors until we have a clear picture of what’s going on.
Please explain to the family and visitors that this is for everyone’s best interests.
Please take the time to protect yourselves.
Follow the infection control protocols I have outlined and posted to the doors of the rooms –
and ask for help or more information if you have any concerns.
Simmi, I’ll come help you as soon as I’ve spoken with the doctor.
Okay, thanks a lot guys.
You just saw Kim, a supervisor, act to protect the health of both her staff and the facility’s residents.
She made sure that the staff knew what they had to do and how to protect themselves.
She also confirmed that safe work practices were being followed.
When figuring out how to control a hazard, consider the information you gathered when looking at its cause or source.
Remember, you must communicate information to your staff,
make sure that they are able to implement the control measures, and update all necessary documents.
