A new national awards program will recognize teams of critical care professionals, hospital units and healthcare institutions able to successfully reduce or eliminate healthcare-associated infections (HAI), a leading cause of death in the United States.

The Washington State Hospital Association is releasing hospital-specific surgical infection rate data. This is the first time this information has been made public.

A study and review performed by clinicians of PICC Excellence, Inc. found a disinfection cap that dispenses 70% isopropyl alcohol is effective in disinfecting IV needleless connectors after five minutes.

CareFusion Corp., a leading global medical device company, has announced it has entered into an agreement with Healthpoint, Ltd. to market and sell innovative surgical scrub solutions.

Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) announced that it has installed Xhale Innovations’ (XI) HyGreen® Hand Hygiene System in the MCH Oncology Unit. This will be the nation’s first installation of HyGreen in a children’s hospital and the first in South Florida.

Influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel is a professional and ethical responsibility and non-compliance with healthcare facility policies regarding vaccination should not be tolerated, according to a position paper released today by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

Patients may be at greater risk of developing invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections, following cardiothoracic and neurosurgical procedures compared with orthopedic or plastic surgical procedures according to a study published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

An assessment of nearly 70 ambulatory surgical centers in three states found that lapses in infection control were common, including for practices such as hand hygiene, injection and medication safety, and equipment reprocessing, according to a study in the June 9 issue of JAMA.

A recently published article on the care and maintenance of ccentral venous access devices describes the benefits of intraluminal protection connectors for preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSI).