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Home›Courses›Healthcare & Patient Safety›Patient Decontamination Interactive Training by Efilm

Patient Decontamination Interactive Training by Efilm

27 minutesENHealthcare & Patient Safety29 CFR 1910.120(q) (HAZWOPER) / CMS 42 CFR 482.15 (Emergency Preparedness)
Quick Answer

Patient Decontamination is a 27-minute online course that trains hospital and emergency department staff on decontamination procedures for patients contaminated by chemical, biological, or radiological agents during mass casualty or hazmat incidents. It is designed for emergency department nurses, technicians, and hospital emergency response team members and includes a downloadable certificate of completion.

Course Overview

Hospital emergency departments are often the first point of medical contact for victims of chemical releases, industrial accidents, and hazardous material incidents. The Joint Commission and CMS require healthcare facilities to maintain emergency preparedness plans that include decontamination capabilities. Without proper decontamination procedures, contaminated patients can expose hospital staff and other patients to secondary contamination, potentially shutting down an emergency department at the exact moment it is needed most. OSHA's HAZWOPER standard (29 CFR 1910.120) requires hospitals that choose to decontaminate patients to train their staff to the appropriate emergency response level.

This course prepares your hospital staff to set up and operate a patient decontamination process in response to a chemical, biological, or radiological event. The training covers decontamination zone setup, patient triage for contaminated casualties, personal protective equipment for decontamination team members, gross and technical decontamination procedures, and patient flow management from the contaminated area through decontamination to the clean treatment zone. Your team will understand the sequence, equipment, and safety protocols needed to protect both patients and healthcare workers during decontamination operations.

What You'll Learn

  • Hospital decontamination plan requirements and activation triggers
  • Decontamination zone layout including hot, warm, and cold zones within a hospital setting
  • Personal protective equipment selection for hospital decontamination team members
  • Triage procedures for contaminated patients arriving at the emergency department
  • Gross and technical decontamination steps and water management
  • Patient flow management from contaminated arrival to clean treatment areas
  • Documentation and chain-of-evidence considerations during decontamination events

Who Needs This Training

  • Emergency department nurses and physicians at hospitals designated for hazmat patient reception
  • Hospital decontamination team members responsible for setting up and operating decon stations
  • Emergency management coordinators planning hospital mass casualty decontamination procedures
  • Nursing and ancillary staff who may assist during a hospital chemical emergency activation
  • Safety officers responsible for hospital HAZWOPER compliance
  • EMS and first responders who coordinate with hospital decontamination teams

Regulatory Background

Hospitals that receive and decontaminate contaminated patients must comply with OSHA's HAZWOPER standard at 29 CFR 1910.120(q), which requires emergency response training appropriate to the employee's role. Hospital decontamination team members typically need operations-level training (at minimum) and familiarity with the specific chemicals or agents they may encounter. CMS Emergency Preparedness Requirements (42 CFR 482.15) and Joint Commission Emergency Management standards require hospitals to conduct risk assessments, develop emergency operations plans, and perform at least two emergency exercises annually - at least one of which must include an influx of simulated patients. Non-compliance with CMS requirements can jeopardize a hospital's Medicare and Medicaid certification, while OSHA HAZWOPER violations carry penalties of up to $16,550 for serious citations and $165,514 for willful violations.

Frequently Asked Questions

OSHA does not specifically require hospitals to perform decontamination. However, if a hospital chooses to receive and decontaminate contaminated patients - as most emergency-receiving hospitals do - staff involved in decontamination must be trained to the appropriate HAZWOPER response level under 29 CFR 1910.120(q). CMS and the Joint Commission separately require hospitals to have emergency preparedness plans that address hazardous material incidents, which in practice means maintaining decontamination capabilities.
Hospital decontamination team members typically need operations-level training (minimum 8 hours) under HAZWOPER, which covers recognizing hazardous materials, using basic protective equipment, and performing defensive decontamination. Team leaders may need technician-level training (24 hours). All team members require annual refresher training. Some hospitals train their decontamination teams to the operations level while ensuring at least one person on each shift has technician-level knowledge.
A hospital decontamination setup typically includes three zones: the hot zone (contaminated area where patients arrive), the warm zone (where decontamination takes place, including gross and technical wash stations), and the cold zone (the clean area where decontaminated patients receive medical treatment). Physical barriers, signage, and PPE requirements increase as staff move from cold to hot zones. Patient flow is always one-directional from hot through warm to cold to prevent cross-contamination.
Hospitals should have a plan for managing contaminated patients who arrive at the emergency department without prior notification from EMS. This plan should include a recognition protocol at triage, immediate isolation of the patient from the waiting area, activation of the decontamination team, and lockdown of the affected ED entrance if needed. Staff who first encounter the patient should move upwind and avoid physical contact until the decontamination team arrives in appropriate PPE.
No. This course provides the knowledge base for understanding decontamination procedures, zone setup, and patient flow. Hospital decontamination teams must conduct regular hands-on drills including actual setup and teardown of decontamination equipment, PPE donning and doffing practice, simulated patient processing, and coordination with EMS and hazmat teams. CMS requires at least two emergency exercises annually, and decontamination should be included in the exercise rotation.

Related Courses

Hospitals developing comprehensive emergency preparedness programs often pair this course with Chemical Exposure Disaster Exercise for full-scale drill planning and execution, and Bloodborne Pathogens to address the infection control risks that accompany emergency decontamination operations.

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$29.95
per person
Volume Pricing
Team Size Price per Person
1 - 9$29.95
10 - 24$23.95
25 - 49$21.55
50 - 99$17.50
Subtotal $29.95

Certificate of completion included. Downloadable upon passing the final assessment.

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$29.95
per person