Safety Newsletters

Briefings on Infection Control Healthcare Life Safety Compliance Hospital Safety Center Medical Environment Update OSHA Watch

Your facility's infection control and prevention initiatives are in the spotlight: Scrutiny from The Joint Commission, CDC guidelines, mounting pressure from state government, and heightened public awareness all paly a role. How will you keep up?

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Briefings on Infection Control

Issue 12, December 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Compendium of strategies full of HAI prevention tips

  Five major organizations collaborated in October to create a compendium of strategies to prevent...

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

  It’s been one year since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released...

• Hospital leaders dropping the ball when it comes to IC

  If you don’t feel as though your hospital’s leadership is fully invested in infection...

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

  A new study in Lancet Infectious Diseases has again raised questions about the value of flu shots...

• IC.01.02.01, needed resources for your IC program

  Under Joint Commission standard IC.9.10, soon to become IC.01.02.01 in January after the...

• Dress for IC success

  In September, the neonatal ICU (NICU) at Maine Medical Center in Portland adopted a new dress code...

Issue 11, November 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

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

  If a patient at your facility contracts a surgical site infection (SSI), your facility might still...

• Contending with floods, hurricanes, and water damage

   It’s hurricane season, and some facilities might find themselves dealing with an...

• Joint Commission wants the right person in charge

  Under the current Joint Commission standard IC.7.10, hospitals must identify a person or persons to...

• Seven tips to fight the flu with vaccinations

  Flu season is back. Is your facility up to the challenge?  Joint Commission Resources, the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Can training IC liaisons really save your sanity?

  Many ICPs are juggling a host of regulatory requirements these days and consequently find...

• Stay vigilant: Pandemic influenza is more likely than ever

  Three years ago, pandemic influenza was a hot topic. Many facilities were focused on preparing for...

• Document, monitor, and limit flash sterilization to stay out of hot water with The Joint Commission

  Flash sterilization should be used only in unplanned or emergency situations, as stipulated by The...

• New regulations affect dialysis facilities

  If your hospital owns a dialysis clinic, you’ll need to ensure that it’s compliant with...

• Audits and training critical to food safety

  With MDROs and other dangerous hospital-associated infections to contend with, foodborne illnesses...

Issue 9, September 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Intensive, expensive, and, in some cases, controversial

  The Joint Commission has announced its 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), and they include...

• 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...

• Taking on UTIs: A bundled approach

  Urinary tract infections (UTI) may not be the most expensive or life-threatening infections, but at...

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Interpersonal relationships are crucial to successful construction projects

  Picture a floor nurse with little experience in IC thrown into an ICP position and expected to...

• Train your staff on respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette in time for upcoming respiratory infection season

  "I personally like to see training start in September," says Joan M. Wideman, MS, MT, (ASCP) SLS...

• Focus is on IC in 2009 National Patient Safety Goals

  Preventing hospital-associated infections (HAI), such as MDROs, central line-associated bloodstream...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS proposes nine more IC conditions to reduced payment list

  Is it possible to prevent all C. diff infections? How about all cases of ventilator-associated...

• Universal MRSA screening: One approach does not fit all

  The first study, "Universal Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at...

• Don't wait for large-scale disasters to put your emergency systems to the test

  Imagine this scenario: a norovirus outbreak hits your hospital's psychiatric unit, prompting an...

• Consider using technology to help reduce infections

  Beginning October 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reduce payment for...

• Prevent unsafe injection practices at your facility

  When outbreaks associated with unsafe injection practices occur, they hit the headlines with a...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare your facility to identify and tackle preventable infections

  A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) regulation that will reduce payment for serious...

• The NICU: Small patients pose big infection risks

  Neonatal ICU (NICU) patients are at the top of the list of patients at high risk of developing...

• Claim victory over ventilator-associated pneumonia

  In 2002, the ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rate at Owensboro (KY) Medical Health System was...

• Strategies to prevent the spread of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in your facility

  Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) spends far less time in the spotlight than MDROs...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Take a team approach to target, mitigate antibiotic resistance at your facility

  Antibiotic-resistant organisms can cause problems for ICPs. For each resistant organism that...

• Antimicrobial drug management program fights to reverse increasing resistance rates

  All healthcare facilities are concerned about the growing number of antibiotic-resistant organisms...

• Prevent your fast-paced, high-volume ER from becoming a hotbed of infectious activity

  A hospital's ER is full of opportunities for infectious disease transmission. In no other area of...

• Avoid reimbursement, accreditation concerns by preventing catheter-associated infections

  Starting in October, under new Medicare regulations, hospitals will no longer receive higher...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Study: Control C. diff by extending precautions

  If standard precautions aren't getting your C. diff problem under control, you might want to...

• Do multiple interventions effectively reduce C. diff infection rates? Yes, they can!

  In June 2000, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Presbyterian had an outbreak of the...

• IC, patient safety come together in Joint Commission 2009 standards

  The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) reinforce what many ICPs...

• Behavioral health challenges much like pathogens: Unique, unpredictable, everchanging

  Editor's note: This is the third installment of a special series focusing on IC issues specific to...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CIC credential may fit the need as ICPs seek competency benchmarks

  In 1982, when APIC created the Certification Board of Infection Control (CBIC), IC certification...

• Patient contact, equipment pose IC risks

  Editor's note: This story is part of a series focusing on IC issues in various hospital departments...

• Talking trash may help improve hand hygiene

  If you want to know how well your staff members are complying with hand hygiene recommendations...

• Heading off sepsis can save lives-and money

  Healthcare practitioners have made strides in identifying and treating sepsis cases, but there is...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Advocate for the budget dollars you need to fight infection rates

  These days, many ICPs have been forced to shift their focus from spores and microorganisms to...

• Improve IC relationships: Build bridges and avoid pitfalls in interdepartmental communication

  IC is not a job you can do alone. Everyone from housekeeping staff to administrators to surgeons...

• The Joint Commission is focused on IC: Is your facility ready?

  Anecdotal evidence indicates that Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) surveyors are looking more...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Are your patients bugging out about MRSA? Use the spotlight to your advantage

  If your facility is like many others, your office has been fielding a lot of MRSA questions lately...

• Testing staff for staph: Some hospitals find such a proposal contentious, at best

  Would your staff members be more diligent about washing their hands and following standard...

• Prevention should focus on bloodborne pathogens standard

  Editor's note: This story is the first in an occasional series focusing on IC issues in various...