Infection Control

All visitors entering the Hospital are required to rinse their hands with the alcohol rub available when entering and exiting the Hospital and prior to and after visiting a patient. Alcohol rub dispensers are available throughout the Hospital (Hospital entrances, outside of elevators and on patient floors) for everyone's convenience.

Handwashing is the single most important procedure you can do to help minimize your risk of infection. Be sure to help prevent infections from being spread by washing your hands frequently.

To prevent the spread/transmission of infections to other patients, staff and the hospital environment, it is sometimes necessary to place patients in Isolation Precautions. This may mean relocating the patient to a special isolation room, with an Isolation Precautions sign placed at the entrance to alert all staff, doctors and visitors that they must wear a gown and gloves or a mask (depending on the infection or bacteria).

If a patient is placed in a room marked Isolation Precautions, visitors will be asked to follow the instructions of staff and may be asked to wear a gown, gloves, or mask, depending on the situation. It is important that the gown and gloves or mask are removed before the visitor leaves the room.

When leaving the isolation room, hands must be washed after the removal of gown and gloves (and mask as needed), which prevents the spread of infections into the hospital environment.

These precautions remain in place until there is no risk of the infection spreading to others.

Latex

Fragrance

In support of our commitment to health promotion and safe environment, the Ross Memorial Hospital shall strive to provide an indoor air environment that meets accepted standards. Scented products can contain chemicals which may cause serious problems for people with asthma, allergies, migraines and environmental illnesses.

The Ross Memorial Hospital will maintain a smoke and fragrance free policy, and wherever possible, eliminate the use of other hospital products where scent or other properties are known to cause health problems for patients, staff, physicians, volunteers and visitors.

Employees, medical staff, volunteers, and students are asked to avoid the use of perfume, aftershave, scented hairspray and other scented personal products while at work. All hospital employees and medical staff are asked to support this policy, and encourage others to refrain from using such scented products while at the hospital.

The Hospital will communicate with local florists to encourage them to advise customers against ordering highly scented flowers (such as hyacinths, Easter lilies, and eucalyptus) for hospital inpatients.

Approved By: Medical Advisory Committee, 2000 June

Smoking

In light of the serious hazards of smoking both to the smoker and non-smoker sharing the same environment, and to provide leadership in health promotion to the community, Ross Memorial Hospital is a smoke-free facility and as such:

1. Smoking within the facility is prohibited.

2. a) Smoking is also prohibited in the Ambulance garage, terraces, roof gardens, patios and entrances including Angeline Street Entrance, the Emergency Entrance and the Main Entrance. 
    b) In accordance with the Tobacco Control Act, smoking within 9 (nine) metres of any entrance to the hospital is prohibited.

3. Smoking will be permitted outdoors in a designated location adjacent the walkway leading to the Employee Entrance with is located on the east side of the Main Entrance/Lobby.

4. Tobacco products will not be sold on Hospital premises.

All staff and physicians are responsible for informing patients and visitors of this policy and helping to ensure its compliance.

In the event that an employee is faced with a situation in which a smoker refuses to comply with the smoking policy, the following applies:

i. An employee should refer the matter to his/her immediate Supervisor, who will make the same request of the smoker.

ii. Further refusal to comply should be referred to a member of the Senior Administrative Staff, who will again present the request to stop smoking.

iii. If refusal persists, the Senior Administrative Staff, in consultation with the President & CEO, will consider the appropriateness of invoking the enforcement provisions of the City of Kawartha Lakes By-Law.

iv. On weekends, holidays, and during evening and night shifts, problems with compliance should be referred to the Nursing Supervisor/Coordinator in charge of the Hospital. And Administrative on-call is available to provide assistance as necessary.

Approved By: Board of Governors, 1993 January 28
Revised: 1993 June 28
Revised: 1995 October 26
Reviewed: 1997 November 27
Revised: 1999 April 22
Revised: 2003 November 12

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