Office of Public Safety

Section 24: Communicable Disease and Exposure/Injury Care

  1. A new set of disposable gloves will be worn before every new patient contact.
  2. Contaminated clothing, bedding, needles, or any other item are to be handled with extreme care and should be placed in isolation bags and properly marked for cleaning or disposal.
  3. A mechanical device such as a pocket mask or manual resuscitator shall be utilized when respiratory assistance is necessary. Protective eyewear, masks, and gowns are to be utilized if there is the possibility of splash form bodily fluids.
  4. Hand washing with soap and water is to be accomplished after each patient contact.
  5. Medical equipment is to be properly sterilized or decontaminated after contact with patient’s bodily fluids. The equipment can’t be put in service until it is decontaminated.
  6. Large equipment should be washed with disinfectant solution approved for hazardous agents and allowed to air-dry.
  7. Delicate equipment will be wiped down and air-dried.
  8. Resuscitation equipment should be washed in a disinfectant solution and air-dried. Disposable equipment will be discarded if any possibility exists that it was exposed.
  9. As mentioned earlier in this manual, all clothing should be removed as quickly as possible.

Levels of Exposure:

  1. Level I
    1. Contact limited to merely being in the presences of a person suspected of having a communicable disease.
    2. No special action required
  2. Level II
    1. Contamination of clothing or equipment by victim’s blood or fluids.
    2. Decontamination
  3. Level III
    1. Exposure to non-intact skin or mucous membrane with blood or bodily fluids.
    2. Complete Exposure Report, Contact Duty Lieutenant, Captain, Western EMS Advisor, and SDO immediately decontaminate, and seek medical care as needed.