PURPOSE: To ensure compliance with AHCA Emergency Rule 59AER23-1 and 59AER23-2 Standards for Appropriate Use of Facial Coverings for Infection Control (7/3/23)

POLICY: The Treasure Coast Hospice Inpatient Unit Clinical Staff may require a visitor, patient and/or employee to wear facial covering to mitigate the spread of infectious disease.

DEFINITIONS:

Common area - areas in a health care setting where patients are not treated, diagnosed, or examined.

Employee - any person under employment or contract of a health care setting, including health care practitioners, administrative staff, maintenance staff, aides, contractors, students, and volunteers.

Health care setting - any place where health care practitioners and/or health care providers practice their profession or provide services.

Patient - a person receiving services from a health care practitioner or health care provider.

Sterile procedure - aseptic procedures with the goal of minimizing the risk of microbial contamination to reduce the rate of invasive or surgical site infection.

Visitor - any person in a health care setting who is not an employee or patient of the health care setting.

PROCEDURE:

1. Visitors may be required to wear a facial covering only when the visitor is:

1. Exhibiting signs or symptoms of or has a diagnosed infectious disease that can be spread through droplet or airborne transmission,
2. An area where sterile procedures are being performed
3. In an in-patient or clinical room with a patient who is exhibiting signs or symptoms of or has a diagnosed infectious disease that can be spread through droplet or airborne transmission, or
4. Visiting a patient whose treating health care practitioner has diagnosed the patient with or confirmed a condition affecting the immune system in a manner which is known to increase risk of transmission of an infection from employees without signs or symptoms of infection to a patient and whose treating practitioner has determined that the use of facial coverings is necessary for the patient’s safety.

2. Health care practitioners and health care providers may choose to require a patient to wear a facial covering only when the patient is in a common area of the Inpatient Unit and is exhibiting signs or symptoms of or has a diagnosed infectious disease that can be spread through droplet or airborne transmission.

3. Patients and/or visitors have the right to opt-out of wearing a facial covering if an alternative method of infection control or infectious disease prevention is available.

4. Employees are required to follow the TCH Infection Control Guidelines established in the Infection Control Plan and Program and all relevant policies and procedures.

5. Employees have the right to opt-out of wearing a facial covering unless an employee is:

1. Conducting sterile procedures,
2. Working in a sterile area,
3. Working with a patient whose treating health care practitioner has diagnosed the patient with or confirmed a condition affecting the immune system in a manner which is known to increase risk of transmission of an infection from employees without signs or symptoms of infection to a patient and whose treating practitioner has determined that the use of facial coverings is necessary for the patient’s safety,
4. With a patient on droplet or airborne isolation, or
5. Engaging in non-clinical potentially hazardous activities that require facial coverings to prevent physical injury or harm in accordance with industry standards.