{"ref":"TX-HH-IC-03","title":"Disposal of Special Waste","category":"Infection control","summary":"Requires special waste that Agency staff generate while providing home health services, such as used needles and blood-soaked dressings, to be contained, handled, and disposed of under the Texas special waste rules, and requires the Agency to give every patient both spoken and written instructions on how to dispose of sharps at home.","inShort":["Put used needles and lancets into a sharps container right away. Never put a loose sharp in the trash.","Close and lock a sharps container when it is three-quarters full and follow the Agency’s pickup arrangement.","Bag items soaked with blood or body fluids in a labeled biohazard bag. Ordinary used gloves and wipes can go in a tied bag in the household trash.","Every patient who uses sharps at home must get spoken and written instructions on how to dispose of them. Write down that you gave them.","If you find a loose needle, use gloves, pick it up by the barrel, and put it in a sharps container. Report it the same day."],"primaryCitation":"26 TAC §558.286","citations":["26 TAC §558.286","26 TAC §558.285","25 TAC §§1.131-1.137","25 TAC §1.132","25 TAC §1.136","30 TAC ch. 326","Tex. Health & Safety Code §142.020"],"federalCitations":["29 CFR §1910.1030(d)(4)"],"surveyorAsks":["What do your nurses do with a used needle after giving an injection in the home?","Show me the spoken and written sharps disposal instructions you gave this patient."],"forms":[],"headings":["Terms of Reference","1. Purpose","2. Scope","3. Definitions","4. Policy Statement (26 TAC §558.286)","5. Waste Agency Staff Generate in the Home","6. Sharps the Patient or Family Uses","7. Loose Sharps Found in the Home","8. Collection, Transport, and Treatment","9. Responsibilities","10. Records and Compliance Monitoring","11. Staff Training","12. References","13. Related Policies and Forms","14. Approval","15. Revision History"],"version":"1.0","sample":false,"pack":"tx-lhhs","state":"Texas","service":"Home health","guides":[{"path":"/guides/infection-control-policy/","h1":"What should a home care infection control policy include?"},{"path":"/guides/home-health-agency-policies/","h1":"What policies and procedures are required for home health agencies?"},{"path":"/guides/home-health-conditions-of-participation/","h1":"Home health Conditions of Participation: which policies each one needs"}],"agency":{"name":"Sample Home Health Agency","legalName":"Sample Home Health Agency, LLC","logo":null}}