• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

News spotlight: Compendium offers hospitals infection control relief

Nurse Leader Weekly, October 13, 2008

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

Hospitals wanting to minimize healthcare-acquired infections have a new resource for prevention strategies, resources, and advice.

Last week, healthcare leaders released The Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals—a compilation of practical recommendations for curbing the six most common healthcare-associated infections. The compendium was compiled and released by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America in partnership with the American Hospital Association, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO). It not only focuses on the implementation of general strategies, but also offers specific approaches healthcare providers can use in certain locations and/or populations within hospitals to control infections.

The compendium, which is available online for free, offers prevention methods for two infections on the rise: Clostridium difficile and MRSA. It also includes strategies for preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and surgical site infections.

The Joint Commission expects all hospitals to review their risks and current practices to determine which recommendations from the compendium they need to implement, according to Robert Wise, MD, vice president of the division of standards and survey methods.

Source: Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

• Comment
• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive

Comments