Infection Control and Patient Safety

Learning Objectives

• Describe the chain of infection and identify opportunities for breaking transmission pathways in rehabilitation settings.
• Apply standard precautions, including hand hygiene and personal protective equipment use, in all patient care activities.
• Differentiate among contact, droplet, and airborne transmission-based precautions and identify appropriate isolation procedures.
• Identify healthcare-associated infections including MRSA, C. difficile, VRE, and CRE and their implications for rehabilitation.
• Apply principles of environmental decontamination, equipment cleaning, and disinfection in therapy settings.
• Describe OSHA standards for sharps safety and bloodborne pathogen exposure management.
• Identify respiratory infection considerations, including COVID-19 and tuberculosis, relevant to rehabilitation practice.
• Recognize signs of wound infection and apply appropriate management strategies in rehabilitation settings.
• Explain the principles of antibiotic stewardship and the clinical significance of resistant organisms.
• Apply patient safety culture principles, including incident reporting and root cause analysis.
• Implement facility-specific infection control protocols across SNF, home health, and outpatient settings.
• Describe emergency preparedness and outbreak management responsibilities for rehabilitation professionals.