Frequently Asked Questions

• Ask lots of questions.
• Find out why you need the line and where it will be placed.
• Learn what steps the hospital is taking to reduce the danger of infection.
• Wash your own hands often. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub containing at least 60 per cent alcohol.
• Try not to touch your line or dressing. 

Patients should always follow instructions given to them by your health care team.  Frequent hand cleaning is another way to prevent the spread of infection. Hand hygiene involves everyone in the hospital, including patients.

Treatment depends on the type of catheter, the severity of the infection and the patient’s overall health. Generally, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to fight the infection and the central line may need to be removed. In some cases, the line is flushed with high doses of antibiotics to kill the germs causing the infection so that the line does not have to be removed

• Ask lots of questions.
• Find out why you need the line and where it will be placed.
• Learn what steps the hospital is taking to reduce the danger of infection.
• Wash your own hands often. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub containing at least 60 per cent alcohol.
• Try not to touch your line or dressing. 

• All health care providers should practice proper hand cleaning techniques.
• Everyone who touches the central line must wash their hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand rub.
• Wear sterile clothing – a mask, gloves and hair covering – when putting in the line.
• The patient should be covered with a sterile drape with a small hole where the line goes in.
• The patient’s skin should be cleaned with “chlorhexidine” (a type of soap) when the line is put in.
• Choose the most appropriate vein to insert the line.
• Check the line every day for infection.
• Replace the line as needed and not on a schedule.
• Remove the line as soon as it is no longer needed.  

Health care providers who insert a central line in the vein of a patient fill out a central line insertion check list and procedure note which dates, tracks and documents the procedure.

Anyone who has a central line can get an infection. The risk is higher if you:

• Admitted to the ICU
• Have a serious underlying illness or debilitation
• Receiving bone marrow or chemotherapy
• Have the line in for an extended time 

• Redness, pain or swelling at or near the catheter site
• Pain or tenderness along the path of the catheter
• Drainage from the skin around the catheter
• Sudden fever or chills 

Central line infections occur when a central venous catheter (or “line”) is placed in the patient’s vein and the line gets infected. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) often require a central line since they are seriously ill and require a lot of medication for a long period of time. When a patient requires long-term access to medication or fluids through an intravenous (IV), a central line is put in place. A central line infection can occur when bacteria and/or fungi enters the blood stream. The bacteria can come from a variety of places (skin wounds, environment etc.), though it most often comes from the patient’s own skin.

The noise that the scanner creates is the electrical current rising within the wires of the gradient magnet. The current in the wires are opposing the main magnetic field; the stronger the field the louder the gradient noise.

Contact Precautions aim to limit the spread of MRSA to other patients and to health care providers. You may be placed in a private room or with other patients who are also carrying the bacteria. A sign may be placed on your door to remind others who enter your room about these special contact precautions. Those caring for you as well as visitors will be asked to clean their hands, gown and glove before entering your room. Everyone who enters and leaves your room must clean their hands well. The room and equipment in the room will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Contact Precautions aim to limit the spread of MRSA to other patients and to health care providers. You may be placed in a private room or with other patients who are also carrying the bacteria. A sign may be placed on your door to remind others who enter your room about these special contact precautions. Those caring for you as well as visitors will be asked to clean their hands, gown and glove before entering your room. Everyone who enters and leaves your room must clean their hands well. The room and equipment in the room will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Contact Precautions aim to limit the spread of MRSA to other patients and to health care providers. You may be placed in a private room or with other patients who are also carrying the bacteria. A sign may be placed on your door to remind others who enter your room about these special contact precautions. Those caring for you as well as visitors will be asked to clean their hands, gown and glove before entering your room. Everyone who enters and leaves your room must clean their hands well. The room and equipment in the room will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Most people do not die if they are infected with MRSA. However in severe cases of MRSA bacteremia, death can occur. This is uncommon and tends to occur in those people with other severe health problems. The vast majority of people recover from MRSA, once their health is restored.

If a patient is carrying MRSA, generally no treatment is necessary, as the organism is not causing an illness and often will be cleared on its own when the person’s health is restored. If it is determined that the patient is infected (they have a blood infection, skin infection or wound infection etc.) then the patient will treated with the appropriate antibiotic as determined by a physician.

Swabs are performed when patients are admitted to the hospital and periodically for patients whom are at risk. The swabs are sent to the laboratory for analysis and if positive, the laboratory notifies infection prevention and control so that the patient can be placed on Contact Precautions.

Contact Precautions aim to limit the spread of MRSA to other patients and to health care providers. You may be placed in a private room or with other patients who are also carrying the bacteria. A sign may be placed on your door to remind others who enter your room about these special contact precautions. Those caring for you as well as visitors will be asked to clean their hands, gown and glove before entering your room. Everyone who enters and leaves your room must clean their hands well. The room and equipment in the room will be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Because MRSA is spread from one person to another by contact, hand hygiene is critical to preventing its spread in a health-care setting. KGH actively conducts regular surveillance to find cases of MRSA infection and to identify carriers of MRSA. If a patient is positive for MRSA they are placed on Contact Precautions.

MRSA is spread from one person to another by contact, usually on the hands of caregivers. MRSA can be present on the health care provider’s hands either from touching contaminated material from infected persons or from touching articles contaminated by a person carrying MRSA, such as towels, sheets and wound dressings. MRSA can live on hands and objects in the environment for extended periods of time.

Risk factors for MRSA infections include invasive procedures, prior treatment with antibiotics, prolonged hospital stay, stay in an intensive care or burn unit, surgical wound infection and close proximity to someone who is carrying MRSA. 

A bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream and is referred to as a bloodstream infection.

Staphylococcus aureus is a germ that lives on the skin and mucous membranes of healthy people. Occasionally, Staphylococcus aureus is a  cause of human infection. When Staphylococcus aureus develops resistance to certain antibiotics, it is called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.

For more information and other related topics we recommend you visit:

• Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care - Patient Safety 
• Public Health Ontario - Regional Infection Control Networks (RICN)

If you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 you should not report to work and are required to contact the Occupational Health, Safety, and Wellness team immediately to schedule a swabbing appointment. Further instructions will be provided on a case-by-case basis.

If you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 you should not report to work and are required to contact the Occupational Health, Safety, and Wellness team immediately to schedule a swabbing appointment. Further instructions will be provided on a case-by-case basis.

If you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 you should not report to work and are required to contact the Occupational Health, Safety, and Wellness team immediately to schedule a swabbing appointment. Further instructions will be provided on a case-by-case basis.

If you or a dependent falls ill on the date of your orientation and you are therefore unable to attend, please send an email to the following individuals:

1. The host of your orientation at @email
2. Your Manager
3. Your Recruitment Advisor

**Please note that your attendance in orientation is required and you will be rescheduled to attend at a later date. In some cases, this can impact your start date. If you have any questions about missed time or changes to your schedule due to missed time, please contact your manager.

If you or a dependent falls ill on the date of your orientation and you are therefore unable to attend, please send an email to the following individuals:

1. The host of your orientation at @email
2. Your Manager
3. Your Recruitment Advisor

**Please note that your attendance in orientation is required and you will be rescheduled to attend at a later date. In some cases, this can impact your start date. If you have any questions about missed time or changes to your schedule due to missed time, please contact your manager.

If you or a dependent falls ill on the date of your orientation and you are therefore unable to attend, please send an email to the following individuals:

1. The host of your orientation at @email
2. Your Manager
3. Your Recruitment Advisor

**Please note that your attendance in orientation is required and you will be rescheduled to attend at a later date. In some cases, this can impact your start date. If you have any questions about missed time or changes to your schedule due to missed time, please contact your manager.

It can take up to 3 weeks to process and enroll new employees into the WorkPerks program. If you are experiencing issues 3 weeks after your start date, please reach out to the Total Rewards Team for guidance.

It can take up to 3 weeks to process and enroll new employees into the WorkPerks program. If you are experiencing issues 3 weeks after your start date, please reach out to the Total Rewards Team for guidance.

It can take up to 3 weeks to process and enroll new employees into the WorkPerks program. If you are experiencing issues 3 weeks after your start date, please reach out to the Total Rewards Team for guidance.

If you complete all 6 priority courses before 16:00 (the end of the Virtual New Employee Welcome), continue working on your eLearning by proceeding to the additional courses that are listed in your My Learning tab in KnowledgeNow.

If you complete all 6 priority courses before 16:00 (the end of the Virtual New Employee Welcome), continue working on your eLearning by proceeding to the additional courses that are listed in your My Learning tab in KnowledgeNow.

If you complete all 6 priority courses before 16:00 (the end of the Virtual New Employee Welcome), continue working on your eLearning by proceeding to the additional courses that are listed in your My Learning tab in KnowledgeNow.

Your participation in orientation is mandatory and planned in advance. If you have a personal appointment that cannot be rescheduled or if you have been scheduled to work a shift during orientation, please send an email outlining the situation to the following individuals:

1. The host of your orientation at @email
2. Your Manager
3. Your Recruitment Advisor

A solution will be negotiated on a case-by case basis.

**Please note that your attendance in orientation is required. In some cases, this can impact your start date. If you have any questions about missed time or changes to your schedule due to missed time, please contact your manager.