Communicable Disease Policy Requirements
A well written and implemented Communicable Disease Prevention policy that meets NARR Standards, can help you make sure that you are taking reasonable steps to prevent the spread of disease, whether residents have a condition or not, and while respecting the individual rights of the residents who live in the home.
For your Communicable Disease Prevention policy to meet the requirements of ORH Certification, your policy needs to address several elements, regardless of the house’s level of support including…
- Residents are not required to disclose communicable disease status to the recovery housing operator.
Residents are allowed to keep this information private by law. Residents may share their health condition, if they choose to, but the operator must not require them to disclose any health condition information to provide housing or services.
- The recovery house must have a policy to notify residents and staff on what behaviors may increase the risk of spread of communicable disease and steps that they can take to mitigate these risks.
For example, the policy can list that residents can use gloves or other protective equipment when exposed to bodily fluids, wash their hands frequently, keeping a clean environment and be encouraged not to share personal items with others.
- The recovery house must have a policy on disposal of any biohazardous materials, such as sharps (IE: needles) that a resident may use for insulin or other prescribed medications.
These materials need to be disposed of in accordance with recommendations from their health care provider or County Health Department.
(LEARN MORE about NARR Standards https://narronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NARR_Standard_V.3.0_release_11-2018.pdf