NAC449.5295. Sanitation: Provision of sanitary environment; walls, floors and ceilings; blood spills.

     1. Each facility shall provide a sanitary environment that minimizes or prevents transmission of infectious diseases at the facility.

     2. The base of each wall that is located in any area of a facility which is subject to frequent cleaning with water or any other liquid must be:

     (a) Tightly sealed to the floor and the wall to ensure that the base of the wall is impervious to the water or other liquid; and

     (b) Constructed without any voids that may harbor insects.

     3. The material that is used for the surface of the floors of a facility must be easily cleanable and have resistance to wear that is appropriate for the location of the material in the facility. In each area of the facility that is subject to cleaning with water or any other liquid, the material must not be physically affected by germicidal or cleaning solutions.

     4. The finish on the interior of each wall of a facility must be washable and, in the immediate area of any plumbing fixtures, must be smooth and resistant to moisture.

     5. Each joint of a structural element of a facility and each floor or wall that is penetrated by a pipe, duct or conduit must be tightly sealed to reduce the possibility of entry by rodents or insects into the joint, floor or wall.

     6. Each ceiling or ceiling structure that is exposed in an area of a facility which is regularly occupied by patients, staff or visitors of the facility must be finished to ensure that the ceiling or structure is cleanable with equipment which is used in daily housekeeping activities. If any tile that is located in the ceiling of any room of a facility becomes stained with blood, the facility shall clean or replace the tile immediately or as soon as practicable after the tile becomes stained.

     7. A facility shall not use a ceiling fan in any area of the facility that is used to treat a patient of the facility.

     8. Each spillage of blood that occurs at a facility must be cleaned immediately or as soon as practicable after the spillage occurs using a disposable cloth and an appropriate chemical disinfectant. If a blood spill occurs:

     (a) The surface of the area must be subjected to intermediate level disinfection in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer of the disinfectant that is used to clean the spill, if a commercial liquid chemical disinfectant is used; or

     (b) If chlorine bleach or any other solution of sodium hypochlorite is used to clean the spill, the solution must consist of not less than 1 percent of sodium hypochlorite. Each surface that is cleaned with the chlorine bleach or other solution must be compatible with that solution.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health by R130-99, eff. 8-1-2001)