Policy Text
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MJ/RCCC
OPERATIONS ORDER
Communicable Disease Management
The purpose of this Order is to standardize procedures for mini mizing the possibility of
contracting communicable diseases at the Main Jail and at the Rio Cosumnes
Correctional Center (RCCC). This order is not intended to be a substitute for
established medical protocols fo r the care of communicable dise ases.
I. Policy
Custody staff shall follow establ ished procedures to avoid cont amination when booking,
processing, and managing prisoner s who are suspected or diagnos ed as being infected
with a communicable disease. Heal th and custody personnel shal l isolate such
prisoners as needed and provide for proper disposal of any cont aminated waste
materials. II. Safety Equipment
A. Custody staff shall avoid co ntact with infectious body fluid s and shall wash
with soap and water, or if available, with an approved germicid e, after
contact.
B. The following equipment will be available to employees in or der to
minimize contact with blood, body fluids, or infectious disease s.
1. Supplies of disposable gloves shall be kept in intake areas, housing
unit control rooms, medical stations, and other areas easily accessible to employees.
2. Outer protective clothing and masks. 3. Puncture resistant containers for disposal of sharp objects.
4. Resuscitation, other ventilati on devices, and/or N-95 “pocke t
masks”.
C. Custody staff shall carry disposable gloves and shall wear d isposable
gloves whenever the employee antic ipates a physical confrontati on,
contact with a body fluid, or anytime he/she has open cuts or n on-intact
skin on the hands.
D. The following precautionary m easures shall be followed when using
disposable gloves.
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MJ/RCCC 1. Employees are cautioned not to touch personal items or their
person while wearing gloves.
2. Gloves should not be worn for extended periods of time to pr event
skin irritations.
3. Gloves shall be changed and disposed of after each contact. If
contact with blood or body fluids was made, the gloves shall be
disposed of in a marked cont aminated waste container.
4. Employees shall remove gloves by pulling them off inside-out t o
prevent contamination.
5. Employees shall wash hands t horoughly with soap and water af ter
removal.
III. Management of Prisoners Classified as Infectious
A. Prisoners who have been evalua ted by medical staff and class ified as
“infectious” shall be isolated from the prisoner population.
B. Recreation, if medically cl eared, shall consist of a minimum of three (3)
hours during a seven (7 ) day period in acco rdance with Title 15 standards.
C. All visits, recreation, phone access, etc., shall be adminis tered in a similar
manner to a prisoner housed in gener al population however, part icipation
in these activities shall be done separately so other prisoners a r e n o t
exposed.
D. The immediate visit area, phone, shower, and any recreation areas used
by the prisoner, shall be disi nfected by the prisoner.
1. An approved disinfectant solut ion shall be used as described i n
Operations Order 9/5-Infectious Waste Disposal.
2. If the prisoner is unable to c omplete the disinfection, a pr isoner
worker shall be utilized.
E. Infectious prisoners shall be escorted and/or transported se parately. The
infectious prisoner shall be kept separate from other prisoners if he/she
has a scheduled court appearance.
IV. Blood and Bodily Fluid and Communicable Disease Exposure Pr ecautions
A. History and physical examinat ions cannot reliably identify a ll persons
infected with a communicable di sease or other blood borne patho gen;
therefore, standard precautions s hall be consistently used for all contacts
with prisoners.
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MJ/RCCC B. Precautions shall be practiced by all persons to protect the mselves
against possible contact with a communicable disease. Exposures a r e
unpredictable and protective measures should be used in situati ons that
may appear to present risk.
C. Employees shall use disposable gloves whenever the possibili ty of contact
with body fluids is present.
D. Employees responding to emergen cy situations shall practice standard
precautions including the applicat ion of gloves before any trea tment is
administered.
E. Department policies regarding searches shall be followed to minimize
contact with body fluids, cuts or punctures by sharp objects.
F. Sharp objects, such as hypodermic needles, shall be secured in marked,
puncture resistant containers.
G. Any material contaminated by body fluids (except for sharp o bjects) shall
be placed in red biohazard disposal containers and identified a s
contaminated waste.
1. Contaminated waste shall not be placed with, or disposed wit h,
regular waste not identified as contaminated.
H. Portable rescue-breathing po cket mask devices equipped with a one-way
valve shall be used as a protective barrier between a subject a nd an
employee when performing rescue breathing or Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation