Improve Your Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates: Three Insights From the University of Tennessee Medical Center
Without reliable data, it’s impossible to determine the best path toward improving compliance. To reach compliance goals of 90% or higher, systems need to measure 100% of all hand hygiene events.
FDA: Use Duodenoscopes With Disposable Parts to Prevent Infections
Disposable designs simplify or eliminate the need for reprocessing, which may reduce between-patient duodenoscope contamination as compared to reusable, or fixed endcap, scopes.
Study Finds Major Problems With PPE Doffing
According to a report published in May 2019 in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, a journal from The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, researchers found that more than a third (39%) of the 125 healthcare workers observed acquired a multidrug-resistant organism during a patient encounter.
Senator Reintroduces Bill to Fight Spread of Superbugs
The bill targets the misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics, which has led to resistant bacteria and a shortage of effective antibiotics.
7-Part EMS Screening Tool Boosts Early Sepsis Treatment
On an annual basis, sepsis affects about 1.7 million American adults and the infection is linked to more than 250,000 deaths. Timely application of the 3-hour bundle has been associated with reduced mortality.
Multiple Injection Safety Violations Led to NJ Outbreak
Investigators found 41 patients with osteoarthritis contracted the rare infection following injections in their knee joints, with 33 requiring surgery to remove damaged tissue. The investigation found practices including lack of hand washing to inappropriate reuse of medication vials.
Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Adult ICUs: A Three-Pronged Approach
Based on the severity and urgency of preventing CAUTIs, the University of Rochester Medical Center coordinated a project team to collect and analyze CAUTI data and further identify prevention techniques in adult ICUs.
Steps Toward Better, More Efficient EVS Results
By: Steve Zimmerman, MBA, CHESP, T-CSCT, Director of Healthcare Services for ServiceMaster Clean Healing is the goal of every hospital. To promote healing, hospitals must provide an infection-free environment. The work of the environmental services department (EVS) is vital to that effort. EVS is far more than just housekeeping. In addition to cleaning floors and … Continued
New Decision Support Tool Reduces Sepsis Mortality by 22.9%
The computer-based decision support tool is called Sepsis Prediction and Optimization of Therapy (SPOT), and it can detect sepsis 18 hours earlier than the best clinicians.
Mold Found in Seattle Hospital ORs Leads to 1 Death, 5 Infections
Seattle Children’s says the ORs have been infested by mold at different points in the past year, possibly due to problems with the ORs’ air handling and purification systems.