Personal Protective Equipment

February 08, 2021

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 dropped by a statistically significant 5.5 percentage points for adults from 18 to 64, compared to the hospitalization rates in the 4 weeks preceding the implementation of the mask mandates.

February 08, 2021

Double-masking can prove more cumbersome for many. If the goal is to protect the mask underneath, perhaps consider a face shield or a strategy for cleaning the mask more frequently.

January 19, 2021

Infection preventionists have the skill set to provide guidance beyond the health care setting. We know how to select PPE and how to use it. Cleaning and disinfection are like breathing to us.

December 31, 2020

2021 will likely mean a mixture of things for infection preventionists (IPs). First, a focused effort on vaccine education. While this is a larger effort, IPs have always played a significant role in education and answering questions while rounding on the units and clinics.

December 30, 2020

Kristy Warren: “We need to do everything we can to help protect our providers when performing these aerosol generating procedures. And subsequently those providers that enter the room or exit the room after these procedures have occurred.”

December 23, 2020

Though tough months lie ahead for infection preventionists and other healthcare professionals, hope remains that at some point in 2021 things will begin to settle down. In the end, it comes down to a simple formula: We win, COVID-19 loses.

December 15, 2020

In essence, infection prevention and control isn’t just one measure, like personal protective equipment (PPE), but all of these layers. Each layer is imperfect but plays a critical role in reducing risk.

December 08, 2020

Compare transmission data for patients on contact precautions using the recommended full complement of PPE versus transmissions for patients on contact precautions when PPE was being utilized differently or not at all.

December 02, 2020

When an 850-bed urban hospital fought off COVID-19 in part by having to relax infection prevention protocols, the opportunistic and deadly carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) struck.

November 27, 2020

CRAB has chameleon-like tendencies that allow it to absorb material from other organisms, and that allows it to ward off most antibiotics. It’s a Superbug.