PCC CNA Unit 8

1. Safety
Unit 8

2. Situations or conditions that
influence safety
• Confusion or forgetfulness resulting in
faulty judgment.
• Impaired mobility due to such
conditions as dizziness, tremors,
weakness, slowed reflexes or response
time.
• Side effects from medications may
include impaired mobility and
confusion.

3. Situations or conditions that
influence safety continued…
• Sensory impairment
– Vision-clarity or field of vision may be
diminished(macular degeneration, CVA, or
brain injury)
– Hearing-ability to hear warning sounds.
– Diminished sense of smell and
taste(cannot identify warning odors)

4. Situations or conditions that
influence safety continued..
• Diminished sense of touch and
temperature.
– Cannot identify warning sensations of
pressure, heat or cold

5. Safety Precautions to prevent
resident falls
• Among older adults, fall are the
leading cause of injury deaths.
– Clothing
• Non-slip soles on resident’s shoes.
• Shoe strings tied.
• Long gowns or robes may cause resident to
trip

6. Preventing Falls
• In a resident’s room
– Items that resident uses frequently are
kept within reach.
– Answer call signal promptly. Provide
needed assistance to resident before
he/she takes unsafe action.
– Provide a clear walking path through
room.
– Provide adequate light to see where one is
walking.

8. Preventing Falls in res room
continued…
– Spills in any walking area promptly wiped dry.
– Electrical devices properly used(cords out of
walking path, no extension cord, intact
electrical cord and outlet)
– Bed kept in the lowest position
– No throw rugs
– Use brakes or wheel locks appropriately while
transferring resident from one surface to
another.

9. Preventing Falls in Hallway
• Encourage ambulating residents to use
handrails.
• Keep hallways clear of objects.
• Do not store w/c or other items in
hallway(Also a fire hazard)

10. Preventing Falls when
Toileting
• Assist resident with toileting on a
regular basis as needed and according
to plan of care.
– Use of lifts????
– Get other staff if needed
– Watch for “accidents” on the floor and
clean if necessary prior to getting resident
off of toilet.

11. Reporting Hazard/Potential
Hazards
• Report to nurse any resident behavior
that made him/her at risk for falling.
• Malfunctioning equipment must be
removed from use until safe.
– Follow facility policies on removing
equipment that is not working.

12. Safety Precautions to prevent
resident burns
• Provide mealtime assistance to
resident as needed to prevent spilling
or swallowing foods or liquids that are
too hot.
• Water temperature
– Check water temperature before assisting
resident with bath or shower.
– Report water temperature that seems too
hot.

13. Safety precautions to prevent
resident burns continued…
• Monitor resident during bathing so that they
do not change water temperature to an
unsafe level.
• Monitor resident activity when they are in a
food preparation area or an area where hot
equipment such as steam tables are present.
• Devices that produce heat or cold should be
carefully monitored while in use. Decreased
sensory perception may allow tissue damage.

14. Smoking
• Some facilities may permit
• Allowed only in designated smoking
areas. (20 feet from main entrance)
• Provide supervision
• Resident may wear a protective
smoking apron

15. Safety precautions to prevent
electrical injury
• Report malfunctioning equipment, faulty
plugs or outlets and frayed cords
immediately.
• Follow facility policy for electrical safety.
– Some require that any electrical device
brought in by resident/family must be
checked by maintenance before use.
– NO SPACE HEATERS

16. Safety precautions for
chemicals
• Assume that an unlabeled bottle or container
contains harmful material. DO NOT USE.
• Container label will give instructions for safe use of
contents.
• Potentially harmful substances should be kept in
locked cabinet when not in use.
– While being used, the container needs to be under visual
control of the staff member.
• Soap
• Nail polish and remover
• Topical(skin) medications

18. Safety precautions for
chemicals continued…
• Facility will keep Material Safety Data
Sheets (MSDS) for chemicals in the
workplace.
• MSDS sheets describe safe use and first
aid measures
• KNOW WHERE THIS MANUAL IS AT!!!!!

20. Safety precautions for
choking
Present food and liquids to res in a form that the
resident can handle(cut up, chopped, thickened)
Observe for symptoms of partial or complete airway
obstruction.
Use standard procedure for correcting airway
obstruction:
– Resident symptoms
– Rescuer position and action
– After care

21. Safety precautions for O2 use
• Precautions for O2 safety should be posted
outside resident room when O2 is used.
• Limit any situations that might start a fire
because O2 supports combustion.
– NO SMOKING
– Check with the nurse before using any
electrical equipment while the resident is
receiving O2
– Follow facility policies

22. O2 safety
• Observe O2 flow rate setting, reports
to nurse if flow rate is not at ordered
rate.
– COPD
• Secure O2 tank so that it does not fall.

23. Fires
• Follow facility’s emergency plan. Know
the plan prior to emergency.
Knowledge of the plan is both the
responsibility of the employer and
employee.

24. R.A.C.E
• RESCUE-remove residents who are in immediate
danger.
• ALERT-activate the fire alarm. Let others know
about the fire emergency.
• CONFINE OR CONTAIN- isolate the fire by
closing doors and windows.
• EXTINGUISH/EVACUATE- Attempt to put out
the fire if safe to do so. Remove resident to safety
as part of facility evacuation plan

26. Fire Extinguisher - PASS
• P-pull pin
• A-aim toward the base of the flame
• S-squeeze the handle to start the flow
of extinguishing material.
• S-sweep spray from the extinguisher
side to side at the base of the fire.

27. Evacuation
• Evacuate building if directed to do so.
– Use resident’s beds and w/c ’ s if possible.

28. – Use evacuation carries to remove non-
mobile resident from a fire area, if other
safer means of evacuation are not
available
• One person carries, such as blanket drag, hip
carry, pack-strap carry
• Two person carries, such as chair carry and
extremities carry
• Four person blanket carry.

29. Severe Weather/Tornados
• Plan usually includes moving resident
to a safe area.
– The facility will designate an area that is
structurally strong.
– Get away from windows and close blinds.
– Protect the resident from flying broken
glass with blankets.
– Gather plenty of blankets

30. Other possible emergencies
• Flood
• Chemical spill
• Violence
• Prolonged power outage
• Prolonged disruption of water supply

31. Safety for resident elopement
or exiting
• Elopement-resident with impaired decision-making
ability, unable to judge own safety needs, leaves a
safe area or the facility without staff supervision.
• Preventing elopement
– Identify residents at risk(those not previously
identified may still leave)
– All facility entrance’s and exits are monitored
electronically unless under visual monitoring
– Resident care plan may have specific
interventions for wandering behaviors.

32. Elopement and Exiting
continued
• Doors may have audible alarms or send a
signal to a pager when they are opened.
• Staff must respond immediately when such
an alarm is triggered.
• An alarm must not be reset until the
triggering cause is identified.
• If resident is missing, follow facility’s
emergency plan.