Free Quality & Patient Safety e-Newsletters

Accreditation Connection Accreditation Monthly Infection Control Weekly Monitor Patient Safety Monitor Alert Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition Patient Safety Quality Monthly

Infection Control Weekly Monitor

Infection Control Weekly Monitor keeps you up-to-date on what's happening in the world of infection control. Every issue provides useful tips on topics from hand hygiene to improving flu vaccination rates.

Subscribe »

2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008

Infection Control Weekly Monitor

Issue 22, May 30, 2012

• Study: Residents short on H1N1 PPE and infection prevention sense

  While training as doctors during the H1N1 pandemic, residents in four healthcare facilities showed...

• Reducing phlebotomy needlesticks

  More than 10 years after the passage of the Needlestick Prevention and Safety Act phlebotomy...

• APIC: When visiting the nail salon or tattoo parlor

  If you’re thinking about heading to the nail salon for a little pampering or getting a new...

• Ask the expert: Using safety needles in an orthopedic practice

  Q: Our orthopedic practice only gives steroid injections. Are we required to use safety needles?

Issue 21, May 23, 2012

• CDC posts healthcare setting outbreak reports for Hepatitis Awareness Month

  As part of Hepatitis Awareness Month and the first National Hepatitis Testing Day in the U.S. on...

• C. diff on the rise

  There is clear evidence that Clostridium difficile (C.difficile), a difficult-to-control and treat...

• Ask the expert: When to test after Hepatitis B vaccination

  Q: After employees have the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, when should they be tested for...

• Weekly poll: Hepatitis B protection for healthcare workers

  Of the workers in your healthcare facility with reasonably anticipated risk for exposures to blood...

Issue 20, May 16, 2012

• IPs hit the competency road to the future

  If you are still fighting the infection control stereotype of ‘hand washing cop’ or...

• Study: Work experience related to increased use of PPE for flu

  Proper use of PPE for protection against H1N1 comes with healthcare worker experience, but not as...

• Editor's choice: Test your nursing history IQ and win a free webcast on preventing CAUTIs!

  There is still time to get in on HCPro's Nurses Week celebration free webcast contest through a fun...

• Ask the expert: Training record retention

  Q: I have been looking on the OSHA website for guidance on how long we should retain employee...

Issue 19, May 9, 2012

• New competency model for infection preventionists

  The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has introduced their first...

• ZEP zapped by EPA

  The EPA ordered a cease to the sale and use of ZEP Formula 165, a disinfectant intended for use in...

• Editor’s choice: HCPro celebrates National Nurses Week!

   In honor of Nurses Week, HCPro will feature a different special offer each day, including...

• Ask the expert: Online exposure control plan

  Q: Is it okay to have the Bloodborne Pathogens exposure control plan online, for example on the...

• Weekly poll: Nurses and workplace safety

  Compared to other working groups or occupations in your healthcare facility or organization, how...

Issue 18, May 2, 2012

• CDC reiterates: Single dose vials for one patient only

  To avoid confusion among clinicians regarding the use of single-use medication vials and doses, the...

• Editor's choice: CAUTIs still a problem

  Readers of OSHA Healthcare Connection will find HCPro’s May 30 webcast on CAUTIs...

• Report on state HAI prevention programs

  Despite some uneven progress among the states, HAI-prevention is moving in the right direction...

• Ask the expert: Doctors and annual bloodborne pathogens training

  Q: Are doctors in a medical practice exempt from OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard yearly updates?

Issue 17, April 25, 2012

• FDA: Bacteria found in ultrasound transmission gel poses risk of infection

  The FDA is warning healthcare facilities that some lots of Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound...

• Hand in hand in beating C. diff

  Clostridium difficile posed a threat across all medical facilities, not just hospital settings. But...

• Study: Forgetfulness, discomfort blamed for respiratory hygiene noncompliance

  Even though nearly all emergency department triage nurses at two university hospitals knew that...

• Weekly poll: Color-coded scrubs for nurses

  Should nurses be required to wear prescribed color scrubs or uniforms?

Issue 16, April 18, 2012

• ACS teams with CDC to prevent surgical site infections

  The American College of Surgeons and the CDC have announced a three-year project to harmonize...

• Joint Commission unveils HAI portal

  The Joint Commission has launched an online portal focusing on healthcare-associated infections...

• Study checks dental students on bloodborne exposures

  Fewer than half of dental school students showed “adequate knowledge of transmission and...

• Weekly poll: Personally speaking up on hand hygiene

  As a patient, how likely are to remind a physician to perform hand hygiene before attending to you?

Issue 15, April 11, 2012

• Mum’s the word for patients and hand washing

  Physician, wash thy hands. That's something patients are still reluctant to express before...

• Infection prevention concerns part of OSHA nursing home program

  OSHA has announced a National Emphasis Program to protect nursing homes and residential care...

• Ask the expert: Lunch-time training

  Q: Our supervisor wants to conduct annual bloodborne pathogens training during a brown bag lunch...

• Weekly poll: Surviving an OSHA inspection, right now

  Regardless of your facility type, how confident are you that your healthcare facility would be...

Issue 14, April 4, 2012

• Needlestick prevention group takes to the road

  Safe in Common, a non-profit organization established to raise awareness about needlestrick hazards...

• Study finds only low levels of MRSA ambulances

  Ambulances are relative free of contaminated surfaces that could cause staph infections to patients...

• Ask the expert: Who is qualified to instruct in bloodborne pathogens training?

  Q: What qualifications or certifications does OSHA require for conducting annual training for...

• Weekly poll: Safety compliance and regulatory sources

  From what sources do you regularly obtain information about healthcare staff and facility safety?

Issue 13, March 28, 2012

• Study records operating room staff observations on double gloving

  Healthcare providers observed blood on their hands after surgery more frequently when they wore a...

• Reducing bloodstream infections in an outpatient hemodialysis centers

  Outpatient dialysis centers can significantly reduce the incidence of vascular access-related...

• Editor’s choice: Kicking a dirty habit

  Most healthcare facilities have created some sort of campaign to raise levels of hand hygiene...

• Ask the expert: Chest x-ray frequency with positive TB test

  Q: How often should a staff member in a doctor's office with a positive tuberculin skin test be...

Issue 12, March 21, 2012

• Study: Blood exposures risky with IV catheters

  For nurses, working with IV catheters poses a significant risk for blood exposures, yet most...

• Board certification goes hand in hand with lower MRSA rates

  Acute care hospitals have lower rates of MRSA bloodstream infections when having a board certified...

• Ask the expert: Blood exposure and eyewash station checks

  Q: We have no corrosive chemicals in our work area that would require an emergency eyewash station...

• Weekly poll: Staff safety training and education

  What percentage of your job do you spend on staff safety training and education?

Issue 11, March 14, 2012

• Call to Action issued for protection from bloodborne disease exposures

  The International Healthcare Worker Safety Center and the American Nurses Association have been...

• CDC: ’C. difficile’ poses threats across all medical facilities

  Infections from Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a bacteria that causes diarrhea and other...

• Ask the expert: Carpeting in lab blood draw rooms

  Q: Are there any OSHA rules against carpeting in lab blood draw rooms?

• Weekly poll: OSHA enforcement in non-hospital settings

  Are you in favor of more bloodborne exposure and needlestick enforcement efforts by OSHA in...

Issue 10, March 7, 2012

• MRSA screening beneficial before pediatric surgery

  Before conducting open-airway surgeries on children, healthcare facilities should screen and treat...

• Sidestepping healthcare worker flu shot mandates

  Should vaccinations against influenza be mandatory for healthcare workers?

• Ask the expert: Storing specimens with medications

  Q: We are aware that specimens cannot be stored with food, but is it okay to store blood, urine...

• Weekly poll: Preferred safety training methods

  For your healthcare facility or department, what is your preferred method for staff safety training?

Issue 9, February 29, 2012

• Lobbying for HAI legislation

  “If you broke it, you fix it, and you pay for it,” is the attitude of a couple...

• Watching for delirium during contact precautions

  A study shows that contact precautions can be added to the list of factors that may cause patient...

• Ask the expert: OSHA bloodborne pathogens fines for hospitals

  Q: In a hospital what is the most frequent OSHA bloodborne pathogens citation and fine?

• Weekly poll: Healthcare as a dangerous job

  Do you consider healthcare jobs as dangerous?

Issue 8, February 22, 2012

• Sticks happen...in pandemic clinics

  Healthcare workers giving lots flu shots in clinics during a pandemic are at higher risk of...

• Study: Needlestick law, an example of good legislation

  Law and order has led to a decrease in needlestick injuries among hospital workers.

• Ask the expert: Most common OSHA fine for medical practices

  Q: In a medical practice what is the most frequent OSHA citation and fine?

• Weekly poll: Progress from Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

  With the report of a 38% decrease in needlesticks, has the passage and enforcement of the...

Issue 7, February 15, 2012

• APIC WAVES on campaign for consumers against HAIs

  The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) believes patients...

• Federal recommendations inch toward mandatory flu shots

  A federal panel of vaccine advisors has presented to the Department of Health and Human Services...

• Ask the expert: Mandatory flu shots, mask-wearing policies, and HIPAA

  Q: Our healthcare facility is requiring employees to get the flu shot or they will have to wear a...

• Weekly poll: Needlestick safety devices

  How confident are you that your healthcare facility has considered and provided you with the best...

Issue 6, February 8, 2012

• ICU CLABSI data available to consumers

  For the first time, the public now has access to how well a hospital’s ICU deals with central...

• IAC updates flu shot honor roll

  The Immunization Action Coalition has added 28 organizations to its Honor Roll for Patient Safety.

• Editor’s choice: You are disinfecting that scope with what?

  Some healthcare facilities have strange ideas about what constitutes appropriate decontamination.

• Ask the expert: Source patient testing after needlestick injury

  Q: When must we obtain testing consent from the source individual after an employee needlestick...

• Weekly poll: Safety on Super Bowl Monday

  Human resources experts estimate that U.S. workplaces lose $820 million in productivity and absorb...

Issue 5, February 1, 2012

• Norovirus is top reason for U.S. hospital infection outbreaks

  Norovirus is number one on the list of infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals and was responsible...

• Colorado considers mandatory flu shots

  The Colorado State Board of Health will vote next month on whether to mandate flu shots for...

• Emergency department visits linked to nursing home infections

  A Canadian study indicates that elderly long-term care residents are three times more likely to...

• Weekly poll: Yes or no on mulitdose vials

  Do you agree with the AORN recommended practice to discontinue the use of multidose medication...

Issue 4, January 25, 2012

• AORN nixes multidose vials among other medication recommendations

  The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) hopes two new recommendations will prompt...

• Study: Workplace exposures put nurses at risk for lost pregnancies

  A study appearing in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology raises concerns about common...

• Editor’s choice: Infection prevention plan for outpatient oncology settings

  A new “plug and play” infection control plan that allows oncology clinics to get up to...

• Ask the expert: Top 10 questions for 2011

  Want to know about compliance on bloodborne pathogens training, TB skin testing, emergency eyewash...

• Weekly poll: Workplace safety and performance evaluations

  How important is workplace safety in the written performance evaluations for employees in your...

Issue 3, January 18, 2012

• ANA survey shows nurses concerned about infectious diseases at work

  A survey by the American Nurses Association shows that overall workplace safety has improved...

• Study: Google accurately tracks flu trends

  A study in Clinical Infectious Diseases has good things to say about Google Flu Trends.

• Viewing the film "Puncture"

  If you missed viewing the needlestick injury film Puncture, which was highlighted in the December...

• Ask the expert: Gloves for injections

  Q: In researching OSHA guidelines, I found that wearing gloves during an injection is not required...

• Weekly poll: Workplace safety now and then

  Overall, is your healthcare facility a safer place to work than it was 10 years ago?

Issue 2, January 11, 2012

• Questionable injection habits among NY anesthesiologists

  A survey of anesthesiologist in New York shows an "alarming" trend in unsafe injection...

• International study examines infection prevention practices in dental settings

  A study assessing infection prevention practices of dentists in eight countries shows a wide...

• Ask the expert: OSHA safety sharps compliance on pre-filled syringes

  Q: May we use the non-safety needles that come with pre-filled vaccine syringes provided by the...

• Weekly poll: The Feds and healthcare worker mandatory flu shots

  If approved, do think the CDC’s Recommendations on Strategies to Achieve the Healthy People...

Issue 1, January 4, 2012

• Joint Commission posts Easy-to-Read 2012 NPSGs

  Recently, the Joint Commission (TJC) released easy-to-read versions of the 2012 National Patient...

• CDC posts healthcare prevention strategies for H3N2 flu

  The CDC posted infection prevention strategies for healthcare settings for an influenza variant on...

• Ask the expert: Who does OSHA fine for not using safety needles, the worker or employer?

  Q: If an employee refuses to use available safety devices, such as safety needles and sharps, who...

• Weekly poll: Prediction on bloodborne pathogens exposures

  How well will your facility do in preventing occupational bloodborne pathogens exposures in 2012?