Disinfection Robot Improves Patient Safety and Prevents Infection
Palos Community Hospital has added TRU-D SmartUVC™ to its patient safety and infection control arsenal and will be using the UV disinfection robot in patient rooms as well as surgical suites to eliminate harmful pathogens after traditional cleaning routines are carried out.
Record Hand Hygiene Observations More Efficiently
Failure to perform proper hand hygiene is one of the leading preventable causes of healthcare-associated infections. iScrub is an iPhone/iPod Touch application from The Computational Epidemiology Group at the University of Iowa.
Partnership Increases Hand Hygiene Compliance
A new partnership between TeleTracking Technologies; Hill-Rom Company; and GOJO, makers of Purell hand sanitizer, will allow hospitals to use TeleTracking’s Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) to track, measure, and report hand hygiene compliance.
Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Hospitals Putting Patients At Risk
As antibiotic use in hospitals becomes more frequent, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) urges hospitals and healthcare systems to step up efforts to protect patients by improving antibiotic-prescribing practices.
Infection Prevention
Recent features, columns and news articles on infection prevention from Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare: Industry News and Products 3M Makes Call to Action to Reduce Surgical Site Infections JCI, SHEA Release “Best Practices in Infection Prevention and Control: An International Perspective, Second Edition” Pharmacy OneSource Releases New Features for Sentri7 Patient Safety & Quality … Continued
APIC Launches “Infection Prevention and You” Campaign
To help patients, families, and healthcare professionals understand their role in preventing infections, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has announced a new multiyear education and awareness effort.
Heart of Healthcare Winners Honored for Infection Prevention Efforts
The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE), of the American Hospital Association (AHA), and Kimberly-Clark have announced the recipients of the second annual Heart of Healthcare Awards, honoring outstanding frontline environmental services technicians who make a difference for patients and residents across all care settings. The award is a component of the Heart of Healthcare campaign developed by AHE and Kimberly-Clark Professional, which recognizes and elevates the critical role that frontline environmental services technicians play in the healthcare environment.
New Pediatric Infection Prevention Guidelines for Residential Facilities
With the evolving changes in the delivery of healthcare to children worldwide, which frequently include long-distance travel and lodging for specialized medical treatments, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities to release the first-ever infection prevention and control guidelines for “home away from home” pediatric residential facilities to help prevent the spread of infectious pathogens among vulnerable pediatric populations. The new guidelines were published in the October issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of SHEA.
Clorox Healthcare Products Now EPA-Registered to Kill Infection-Causing Pathogens on Soft Surfaces
In the fight against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), hard surface disinfection is not enough. Dangerous pathogens can lurk on all types of surfaces in healthcare environments, including soft surfaces such as privacy curtains. Recent findings show that 92 percent of hospital privacy curtains are contaminated one week after laundering,[3] yet 37 percent of facilities report that they only launder privacy curtains when they are visibly soiled.[4] If left unattended, contaminated soft surfaces can undermine a healthcare facility’s infection control protocols and pose infection risks for patients, staff, and visitors.
Where We Fall Short: Reducing Sepsis and Other Diseases through Change Management
The human toll of sepsis—the number one preventable cause of mortality in hospitals—is staggering. Of the more than 750,000 severe sepsis cases each year in the United States, 215,000 patients die, making it the leading cause of death in non-cardiac intensive care units. It also accounts for a significant financial burden, equating to $16.7 billion in unnecessary healthcare expenditures.