HCPro.com: Briefings on Infection Control

From the AIA's new Infection Control Risk Assessment to the JCAHO's emphasis on infection control, your facility's infection control initiatives have never been under more scrutiny. Briefings on Infection Control is a 12-page monthly resource that was created specifically to help you save time complying with the new infection control regulations and combating the spread of infectious diseases in your hospital. Not only will you know about the latest changes and updates, but you'll also receive the step-by-step strategies and tools to comply!

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September 2008 (Volume 6, Issue 9)	view entire issue

Intensive, expensive, and, in some cases, controversial
The Joint Commission has announced its 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), and they include "extensive and fairly prescriptive" requirements for IC departments that place a sizable burden on ICPs, particularly those without enough staff members or resources, says Libby Chinnes, RN, BSN, CIC, an IC consultant at IC Solutions, LLC, in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Crisis management starts at home but doesn't end there
The Joint Commission's surveyors may be tough, but they're nothing compared with a natural disaster. So learned Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. When Joint Commission surveyors reviewed Ochsner's emergency plan in July 2005, they found it lacking and gave the facility a requirement for improvement (RFI). One month later, in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit, and that same plan was tested.

Taking on UTIs: A bundled approach
Urinary tract infections (UTI) may not be the most expensive or life-threatening infections, but at many facilities, they are the most common. They're also on the hit list for CMS' reimbursement reductions for preventable hospital-associated infections, which begin in October. This makes preventing these pervasive infections even more of a priority.

Other recently-published articles from Briefings on Infection Control:

C. diff more prevalent than previously believed

Aggressive action (and aggressive nurses) fight Acinetobacter at Louisiana hospital

IC.01.03.01, assessing risk is a starting point

Take a strong stand against the flu with declination forms

Compendium of strategies full of HAI prevention tips

CMS interpretive guidelines one year later: Is your facility in compliance with all the changes?

Hospital leaders dropping the ball when it comes to IC

Study: Flu vaccine in elderly may be even less effective than originally thought, but don’t stop encouraging shots

IC.01.02.01, needed resources for your IC program

Dress for IC success

The new CMS payment policy might be more bark than bite with regard to SSIs

Contending with floods, hurricanes, and water damage

Joint Commission wants the right person in charge

New regulations affect dialysis facilities

Seven tips to fight the flu with vaccinations

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