d. Terminal Cleaning Procedure.
(1)
Assemble the equipment in the utility room and take it to the patient unit.
(2) Clear the bedside cabinet (and overbed table if used). Check for any
personal articles left by the patient and turn them in to the wardmaster. Place all
utensils and any reusable treatment equipment on the cart. Discard waste in the
wastebasket. Place any unused linen in the unit in the laundry hamper.
(3) Strip the bed. Remove the pillow, placing the pillow on the chair and the
pillowcase in the hamper. Lower the Gatch bed. Loosen the bedding all around,
walking around the bed and lifting the mattress edge to release the linen without
snagging it on the bedsprings. Check to see that no articles are concealed in the linen
folds. Roll each piece toward the foot of the bed. Check the pocket of discarded
pajamas and bathrobe. Place all linen in the hamper. Fold woolen blankets, if used,
and place them on the cart for special laundry.
(4) Clean the bed. Wash the top of the plastic mattress cover and inspect it
for any tears. Rinse the cloth frequently and use it damp but not dripping wet. Replace
any damaged cover. Turn the clean surfaces of the mattress together, toward the head
of the bed. Wash the bottom half of the bedframe and all crevices. Lower the Gatch
bed at the knee. By grasping the clean fold of the mattress, lift and swing its clean side
crosswise on the clean half of the spring and wash the exposed surface. Place the
pillow on the unwashed upper half of the spring. Wash the top surface of the pillow.
Place the pillow clean side down on the clean mattress surface and wash the other side.
Wash the upper spring, raising the head portion of the bed, to complete bed cleansing
(figure 3-1).
Figure 3-1. Cleaning the bedside unit.
MD0556
3-3