Utilization and Communication are key elements to a successful UVC disinfection program
By: Alice Brewer In order to have a successful UVC disinfection program, several steps must be taken to ensure that a hospital maximizes its investment in the infection prevention technology. Among those include a bundled approach to infection prevention, a comprehensive program with buy in from all departments, communication and education as well as monitoring … Continued
Examine Your Dialysis Space to Ensure Room to Separate Infectious Patients
In a November 7 blog post, the medical director of TJC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Evaluation wrote that among other infection control practices for hemodialysis, surveyors will be observing water and dialysate testing, medication storage, preparation and administration, and “patient placement in full view of staff during dialysis treatment.”
Antibiotic Stewardship is Tough in Hospital Wards, But Even Tougher in ICU
Appropriate prescribing of antibiotics by healthcare providers is essential to help avoid the development of antibiotic-resistant infections, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls one of the most severe public health problems in the country.
Study: More Than Half of Hospital Infections Could Be Prevented With Proper Protocols
The release of the study was timed to coincide with Outbreak Prevention and Response Week, hosted by SHEA and key partners to raise awareness and provide resources to healthcare professionals, the infection prevention community, patients, and families on ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Four Steps to Manage Antibiotics in Acute Care Settings
Appropriate prescribing of antibiotics by healthcare providers is essential to help avoid the development of antibiotic-resistant infections, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls one of the most severe public health problems in the country.
Hospital-Acquired Conditions Drop 13% Over Three Years
The reduction translates into 910,000 fewer HACs, including adverse drug events and healthcare-associated infections, which helped prevent 20,500 hospital deaths and saved $7.7 billion over the three-year span, according to a new analysis from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Nurses Create Escape Room to Increase Sepsis Awareness
The original idea for the escape room started in 2017 when Lauren McPeake, RN, BSN, created a simulation-based escape room to educate the nurses on her geriatric unit on the care of sepsis.
How Diagnostic Stewardship Can Fight Hospital-Acquired Infections
Diagnostic stewardship confronts one of the biggest unspoken issues in healthcare: overutilization of services. Laboratory testing is one area where overutilization is quite common.
More Than 50 Nurses, Staff at NYC Hospital Sickened by Mold
Nurses and other workers in the maternity unit have reported illnesses such as headaches, dizziness, and swollen throats after air monitoring devices found the presence of mold and trace amounts of anesthetic gases. Hospital officials say no patients have had symptoms.
How to Protect Patients and Staff From What Could Be a Long Flu Season
The study, published in the October issue of the journal Science, presents evidence that flu incidence tends to fluctuate depending on environmental moisture levels, population density, and activity levels of the general population.