Maintaining a Clean & Healthy Environment (Infection Control)

Objectives: Identify different ways that infections can be transmitted, including bloodborne pathogens. Define infection control and explain its importance. Demonstrate appropriate practices for controlling infection. Apply strategies for cleaning and disinfecting a client's home to prevent the spread of infection.

Description: In this class, caregivers learn how to maintain a clean and healthy environment for the older adults in their lives. Topics discussed include standard precautions (also known as universal precautions), including hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment, and how to dispose of sharps and other contaminated materials and equipment. Also covered are methods of transmission, bloodborne pathogens and airborne diseases, transmission-based precautions, and techniques for cleaning and disinfection for infection control.