Success in Controlling Outbreaks in an ICU Using CDC Toolkit Interventions
Infections due to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are on the rise globally. On the CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog, Dr. Kyle Enfield, assistant hospital epidemiologist and medical director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Virginia Health System, describes how his team implemented infection control interventions to assess the prevalence of CRE and extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the unit. This set of interventions became recommended practice in the CDC’s 2012 Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae Toolkit.
As a result, the CRE incidence came down to 0.1 percent of patient days and drug-resistant A. baumannii was eliminated in the unit. These findings were published in the July 2014 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Has your facility implemented the CRE Toolkit? Let the CDC know by posting a comment on the Safe Healthcare Blog.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.
Getting Down and Dirty With PPE: Presentations at HSPA by Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski
June 26th 2025In the heart of the hospital, decontamination technicians tackle one of health care’s dirtiest—and most vital—jobs. At HSPA 2025, 6 packed workshops led by experts Jill Holdsworth and Katie Belski spotlighted the crucial, often-overlooked art of PPE removal. The message was clear: proper doffing saves lives, starting with your own.
