The nurse is admitting a client directly from a health provider’s office. The client has a rash and has been diagnosed with measles. Which room assignment by the nurse indicates an understanding of the disease process of measles?
a semiprivate room with a client who has a broken femur
a semiprivate room with a client diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
a private room at the end of the hall away from the nurses’ station
Number 1 is correct.
Measles is highly infectious and travels via droplets in the air. Clients with measles should be isolated in negative-pressure rooms that conform to current CDC guidelines for controlling airborne infectious diseases. The client with a broken femur is just as susceptible to measles as the client with diabetes, unless he has been vaccinated, has laboratory-confirmed evidence of immunity, or was born before 1957. Optimal client safety requires the use of the negative-pressure room, regardless of the immune status of other clients. All staff and visitors entering the negative-pressure room should don appropriate personal protective equipment and follow universal precautions, in addition to airborne precautions. A private room at the end of the hall is not isolated enough to be safe without the negative-pressure room designation.
