Practice biosecurity tracker
Veterinary Practice Biosecurity Tracker
As the saying goes, “we treasure what we measure.” By using this simple tracker, your team will be able to measure your progress towards optimal infection disease control in your hospital by tracking which tactics you have fully, partially or not yet implemented.
The tactics are divided into three categories:
Essential: These are foundations for ICPB and indicate that your team is starting out on the right foot.
Important: By implementing these tactics, your team is taking huge strides towards optimal care.
Ideal: Teams that adhere to these tactics are approaching ideal ICPB practices.
Instructions:
- Click on the stars that correspond with how you have implemented ICPB tactics in your hospital, if applicable.
- After you have answered ALL the questions, you will be able to view and print your report.
- Assign tactics that need implementation or completion to your team.
- Retake the tracker every 2-4 weeks and celebrate when you reach optimal ICPB care!
NOTE: These results are neither saved, nor submitted to AAHA or other agencies.
Fully Implemented
Partly Implemented
Not Implemented
Not Applicable
REMEMBER: You must answer ALL of the questions to view and print your results. If a tactic doesn't apply to you, select N/A.
We have designated areas for:
Patient isolation
Diagnostic specimen handling
Staff “breaks”
Refrigerating food, vaccines and medications, and diagnostic specimens
Our team has access to personal protective equipment for their:
Hands
Reusable rubber household gloves
Disposable latex, nitrile or other, gloves
Respiratory tract
Surgical masks
Fit-tested N95 masks
Body/clothing
Gowns
Feet/shoes
Foot covers/booties
Eyes
Eye protection (e.g., goggles)
We have written policies on:
Staff with animal contact wearing no/limited jewelry (rings or bracelets)
Staff with direct patient care not having artificial nails or nail enhancements (e.g., nail polish)
Admitting animals from shelters
Not feeding patients raw meat
Which HAIs (e.g., SSIs) require reporting to the hospital ICP
Animal bites
Training requirements for volunteers
Our practice has these hand hygiene options and signage:
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (AHS) stations available
Signage for AHS with instructions
Hand washing stations
Signage for hand washing with instructions
Our staff is trained on how and when to use hand hygiene in these situations:
Before and after patient contact
Before aseptic procedures
Before putting on and after taking off gloves
After contact with body fluids or mucous membranes
After contact with contaminated equipment or surfaces
After personal body functions (i.e., sneezing, coughing, going to the bathroom)
Before eating
We have the following cleaning and disinfecting:
Written protocols that are followed by the team
Safety Data Sheets for the disinfectant products available
Detergents available
Products used for disinfecting patient-contact surfaces
Products approved for equipment and instruments
Techniques for preparing equipment before sterilization (i.e., product, concentration contact time)
When our team does the laundry, they:
Dry the laundry at high temperatures (65-70°C / 149-158°F)
Presoak infectious laundry in a bleach solution (9 parts water: 1 part household bleach)
Transport soiled laundry in a way that doesn’t contaminate their clothes or other parts of the hospital
Segregate clean laundry from soiled laundry and don’t use the same containers to transport each type
Have hand hygiene available in the laundry area
Receive and follow the education provided to protect themselves from soiled laundry
We manage our sharps by:
Using approved, puncture-resistant, labeled containers
Not filling our containers more than ¾ full
Having containers accessible in all required areas
Disposing sharps immediately after use
We follow clear guidelines to sort our waste into:
Clear guidelines regarding waste that is
Biohazardous
Nonbiohazardous
We control rodent and insect vectors by:
Using humane and effective rodent control
Eliminating food debris and clutter
Sealing points of entry for rodents
Not allowing standing water outside the practice
Screening our windows
We document the following staff immunizations:
Rabies
Tetanus
For our examination rooms, we have:
Hand washing sinks with soap available in all rooms
Only essential supplies present
Policies that we enforce for cleaning rooms between patients and at the end of the day
Protocols ensuring that rooms are immediately cleaned/disinfected as needed (e.g., used for an infectious case)
Enhanced cleaning/disinfection protocols in place for cleaning rooms where an infectious case may have been
To protect our staff, we have documented:
Annual staff training and updating on infection control and prevention measures
Annual staff training on the use of PPE
Procedures for handling potential exposure of staff to zoonotic pathogens
Our infection control program consists of:
An infection control practitioner (ICP) designated in the practice to oversee the ICPB program
A surveillance program in place
Infection control and prevention issues (e.g., SSIs, MDR organisms) reported to the ICP
A training program of all new staff where they are provided with a copy of the ICPB protocols
Periodic assessments of all staff’s knowledge of ICPB SOPs
Periodic assessments of all staff’s compliance of ICPB SOPs
A list of reportable diseases that are readily available in the practice
A readily available list of contact numbers for appropriate veterinary and public health groups for disease reporting
Printed materials for clients on zoonotic diseases available
Training anyone who answers the phone to triage and identify signs of potentially infectious diseases when making appointments, and contacting a veterinarian to determine with ICPB practices are required prior to the animal entering the practice
Our autoclave has:
Quality control sterility indicators including in each autoclaved pack
Biological indicators that are periodically used to ensure adequate sterilization, and the results are recorded in a log
Our isolation area
Is a dedicated area for animals with infectious diseases available, and is clearly marked
Has dedicated equipment and PPE available that remains in the isolation area
Has appropriate and available signage
Has footbaths, foot mats or booties available
AHS, alcohol-based hand sanitizer; HAI, hospital-acquired infection; ICP, infection control practitioner; MDR, multidrug-resistant; PPE, personal protective equipment; SOP, standard operating procedure; SSI, surgical site infection.
Not seeing a PRINT button? Be sure you have answered all of the questions above. Scroll through to find the ones you've missed. If it doesn't apply to your hospital, select "Not applicable."
RESULTS
On 6/20/2019, the teammates at our hospital are off to a good start to improve ICPB.
Opportunities for improvement
As a team, we can achieve optimal ICPB care for the pets and people in our care by:
These guidelines are supported by a generous educational grant from Virox Animal Health™.
