A charge nurse is rounding on several older clients on ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit whom the nurse identifies as being at high risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia. To reduce this risk what activity would the nurse delegate to the assistive personnel (AP)?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: Provide oral care every 4 hours. Oral care helps prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia by reducing the risk of oral bacteria being aspirated into the lungs. The AP can assist with oral care under the nurse's supervision.
A: Encouraging between-meal snacks does not directly address pneumonia risk.
B: Monitoring temperature is important but not specific to ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention.
D: Reporting new cough onset is important but does not directly reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia.