ASP Features Education and Innovation in the Fight Against Infection at APIC Annual Conference

Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) will host an educational symposium, deliver continuing education workshops and present data at the 39th Annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Conference June 4-6 in San Antonio, Texas. ASP's growing portfolio of infection prevention solutions, including STERRAD® Systems, the GLOSAIR 600 System and CIDEX® Solutions, will also be on display at the ASP exhibit booth #500.

"ASP is not only deeply committed to providing innovative infection prevention solutions, but also, more importantly, to offering support and education for infection prevention professionals to deliver the highest standards of care for their patients," says Barbara Trattler, RN, MPA, CNOR, NE-BC, director of clinical education for ASP. "We strive to help our customers provide the safest healthcare environments and protect their patients from healthcare-associated infections."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hundreds of millions of patients globally are impacted by healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)(1), and a report conducted with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the direct costs of preventable HAIs are comparable to costs of stroke, diabetes and lung disease.(2)

As a 2012 APIC strategic partner, ASP strives to work with infection preventionists to anticipate, meet and exceed patient and healthcare worker needs and together develop integrated solutions using innovative technologies that dramatically reduce the human and financial costs of healthcare-associated infections. 

APIC Educational Symposium

ASP's educational symposium Current Trends in Environmental Decontamination: Effective Use of Guidelines, Evidence and Newer Technologies Are We There Yet? will take place on Monday, June 4 from 6 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. at Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 007 (ABCD). This session aims to offer information regarding automated area decontamination (AAD), including the need for environmental decontamination, different decontamination technologies and real-world insights on the implementation of decontamination technology in a healthcare setting. The following key opinion leaders will be a part of the discussion:

- Russell Olmsted, MPH, CIC* director of infection prevention and control services, at St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Mich.

- Allan J. Morrison, Jr., MD, MSc, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA*  infectious disease specialist, Annandale, Va.

- Charles Roberts, MS, RM (AAM) director of research, microbiology and chemistry, ASP, Irvine, Calif.

- Kristen Kelley, MPH, CIC* infection control practitioner, Indiana University Health, Bloomington, Ind.

CE Study Guides and Workshop Schedule

ASP's continuing education workshop will focus on the role of the environment in HAIs. All workshop participants will receive a supporting study guide with a quiz that may be mailed in to receive two (2) CE credits. 

Workshop instructors will be Amber Hogan Mitchell, DrPH (c), MPH, CPH (director of professional education at ASP) and Sherry Fua, DNP, MBA, RN (manager of professional education at ASP).

Data Presentation

A study that examines the disinfection capabilities of two methods of automated surface disinfection ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide fog will also be presented at the conference on Monday, June 4 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The study, "Comparison of the Surface Disinfection Capabilities of Two Different Methods Using Automated Devices: Ultraviolet Light versus Hydrogen Peroxide Fogging Machine" was led by Harriet Chan-Myers BS, RM, Manager Microbiology, ASP and Gladys Chang, Senior Scientist, ASP.

ASP Booth Featuring Infection Prevention Solutions

Conference attendees are encouraged to visit ASP's exhibit booth to see the latest technology solutions for medical device sterilization and environmental decontamination including trusted STERRAD® Systems, CIDEX® Solutions and the ground-breaking GLOSAIR 600 Automated Area Decontamination System. ASP's knowledgeable infection prevention experts will be available at the booth throughout the conference to answer questions and support conference attendees in the quest to reduce HAIs at their facilities.

* All key opinion leaders will receive honoraria from Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) for participation in ASP's educational symposium

(1)   http://www.who.int/gpsc/country_work/burden_hcai/en/index.html

(2)   http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/hai/Scott_CostPaper