Insights on Infection Control

Hospital Nurses Reveal Infection Control Risk to Consumer Reports

2009-11-02T13:52:00Z

While running on my treadmill after work, an interesting headline appeared on the local news channel: "Hospital nurses reveal risk of cleanliness, Consumer Reports investigates ." I was shocked to discover that 28 percent of nurses said they had seen problems with cleanliness in the past workweek compared to only 4 percent of patients. We have always been aware of these issues in hospital settings, but what's even more troubling is the fact that most patients aren't aware of the facts. Five percent...(read more)

Happy International Infection Prevention Week!

2009-10-19T12:19:00Z

In attempt to increase awareness on infection prevention and call attention to the need to protect patients and the public from the risk of healthcare-associated infections, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), in collaboration with 3M Health Care, is pushing for statewide recognition of International Infection Prevention Week - Oct. 18-24, 2009. I think it's a great idea to formally recognize the importance of infection prevention. I was just reading some...(read more)

Stimulus Money for Infection Control & Prevention

2009-10-06T17:43:00Z

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, healthcare facilities should be able to ramp up their infection control programs.According to the American Medical Association's website, the "Prevention and Wellness" section of the healthcare provisions of the stimulus package allows for "$1 billion in funding for wellness and prevention programs, including: $300 million for the section 317 immunization program $50 million for state health-associated infections reduction strategies $650...(read more)

Disposables as H1N1 Pandemic Prevention

2009-09-16T22:49:00Z

A recent WebMD article addressing the flu pandemic said, "H1N1 swine flu is spreading faster and wider in the U.S. That's worrisome -- but more and more, health officials are fretting about what might happen the fall." In lieu of the growing concern around the potential for the mass outbreak of the H1N1 flu I am hearing that many facilities are reviewing their disinfection practices in preparation for treating larger amounts of patients and controlling the spread of the illness as much as possible....(read more)

Dangerous Uniforms Part 2

2009-09-03T12:04:00Z

In response to my last posting about uniforms and infection control, Lorettajo Kapinos, an ER RN from Springfield, MA, asked a good question about cleanliness of uniforms and timeframes. "I'd especially like to know if it's safe for 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours." I haven't found much detailed research but the WSJ blog posting I cited in the previous entry indicated Superbugs such as staph can live on these polyester coats for up to 56 days. I also found a few other interesting articles , and even a...(read more)

Are Nursing Uniforms Dangerous?

2009-08-06T13:09:00Z

A recent posting in the Wall Street Journal's health blog, "AMA Weighs Whether Docs Should Hang Up Their White Coats," highlights current discussion around whether physicians should have any clothing beyond the elbow, as it could harbor serious bacteria leading to the spread of HAIs. Physicians are considering a new measure at their annual conference to urge hospitals to adopt dress codes of "bare below the elbows" to avoid transmission of bacteria between patients via coat sleeves. Countries like...(read more)

H1N1: Is It a Crisis or Is Staffing the Real Crisis?

2009-07-22T12:08:00Z

I recently returned from the APIC conference, where topics on the agenda ranged from H1NI, to Model Infection Prevention System of the Future. Most infection preventionists at the meeting felt they knew how to address the challenges of this new pandemic or knew where to look for resources on how to manage as there's a plethora of information available. The real buzz seemed to be the concern around the lack of staffing and that impact on both the infection preventionist group as well as the nursing...(read more)

Improper Cleaning of Devices at the VA Leads to Major Repercussions

2009-06-19T14:03:00Z

There's been some interesting dialog in the news lately about the problems the VA had this week with the improper cleaning of colonoscopes and the major repercussions. How many of you have been surprised (or not) by what's happened and the resulting media response? I think it points back again to the simple importance of good cleaning practices, or substituting disposables for products that are at greater risk of contamination. What do you think?...(read more)

The Latest for Infection Control Professionals

2009-06-09T19:43:00Z

I am attending the annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) in Ft. Lauderdale this week. There will be significant information on the latest topics in infection prevention from leading experts on pandemics, of course, including H1N1. Plus sessions on the latest in compliance, infection prevention in various settings (hospital, ambulatory surgical sites, LTC, and outpatient clinics), and device-related infections - and a thousand other topics. Visit the APIC Web site for more...(read more)

Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu

2009-05-18T14:15:00Z

Thank you again, to those who read my last posting about handwashing and the importance of this simple, yet critical practice both for healthcare practitioners and the public in general. It is especially relevant today with the latest outbreak of H1N1 as this task is one of the key recommendations from the CDC and WHO to help prevent the spread of this and other infections. You may know that the CDC has a site dedicated to H1N1 Flu (swine flu). This site contains valuable information from general...(read more)

Hand Hygiene

2009-04-13T13:46:00Z

Thank you to those who read my last posting about using disposable medical devices as an infection prevention method. I was interested to see the posting that you "try to clean stethoscopes between patients." There are numerous clinical studies that link proper disinfection of all medical devices to limiting the spread of a variety of infections. Recently I attended the 19 th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America ( SHEA ) in San Diego. The updates at the...(read more)

Reducing HAIs With Disposables

2009-03-19T12:28:00Z

A few weeks ago, we asked you how many of you were using disposable vs. reusable blood pressure cuffs. It was interesting to see that close to 80% of you use reusable cuffs to only 20% disposable. Many studies show that HAIs are often passed on medical devices, especially cuffs, even after cleaning. In fact, a recent article in the AARP bulletin cited one study which reported that 39 percent of medical personnel didn't know that C. diff could be spread on stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs and other...(read more)

Welcome to Insights on Infection Control

2009-02-26T16:57:00Z

Thank you for your interest in this critically important area in healthcare today. I'm hoping this space will give you an opportunity to share your opinions and comments as professionals who deal with this important topic each and every day. While writing this first blog entry, I thought to myself, "What can I offer to you to bring some value to my fellow professionals?" The truth is, we all bring different perspectives and areas of expertise from our experience and work. We are all feeling the impact...(read more)