Alexandra Ward, MA

Using COVID-19 precautions, and enhanced contact precautions and environmental hygiene, a COVID-19 isolation ward was able to contain an outbreak of CRAB.

A recent study by NYU Langone investigators determined that disinfecting high-touch surfaces within patient rooms with NaDCC via wipes and electrostatic sprayers yielded lower mean bacteria colony counts.

The wearable wristband works with location sensors throughout the hospital to track HH and HCW behavior, and then pairs with an app that analyzes individual performance.

“Of all the SSIs we culled over that 3 years, about 42% of them required a wound class change by an infection preventionist,” Emily Grohs, MPH, CIC, tells ICT®.

The bioburden disparities among the various locations sampled could mean HCWs are not practicing proper hand hygiene before using or moving WOWs. It could also reflect the number of touches or a discrepancy in cleaning methods.

Health care worker hand hygiene compliance ticked up during COVID, but levels remain low nationwide. A 3-hospital network in Illinois wanted to know why.

The IP’s role in vaccine compliance has traditionally centered on influenza shots, but that all changed with SARS-CoV-2.

Trained observers at a pediatric hospital in south Texas relied on the app for hand hygiene observation collections between June 18 and November 30, 2021, and logged a 140% increase in observations collected.

The HSPA 2022 presentation focused on sharing new and future sterilization standards updates.

Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST, manager of infection prevention at Emory University Hospital Midtown, joins ICT® to discuss the implications of her research, as well as other guidance for building an optimal relationship between infection prevention and the sterile processing department.

It starts with always asking “why” and with volunteering to research “the way it’s always been done."

Halting transmission of infectious pathogens in the sterile processing department hinges on proper personal protective equipment, proper hand hygiene, and proper cough and sneeze etiquette.

Staff shortages, public recognition, and moving out of the medical field are all issues that the sterile processing industry has faced.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending February 18.

Proper ventilation can greatly reduce the environmental strain on operating rooms. However, there’s no one-size-fits all solution.

The CDC’s Katryna Gouin, MPH: “…[I]deally tracking antibiotic use at the facility level should be automated using either electronic health records or long-term care pharmacy dispensing data because manual tracking of antibiotics is time intensive.”