Researcher Josh Bucher, MD, of the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., and colleagues, conducted a survey of emergency medical service (EMS) responders that revealed just 13 percent reported washing their hands before coming in contact with patients.
The study, "Emergency Medical Service Provider Hand Washing Practices" (poster #122), presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), held Oct. 14-17 in Seattle, also found that 52 percent of the survey respondents said that they wear gloves for every patient contact. Only 33 percent of emergency medical providers said they cleaned their hands after performing invasive procedures, and only 13 percent of respondents said they cleaned their stethoscope between patients.
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Source: American College of Emergency Physicians
The Long-Term Care Chronicles: The Great Mitigators
August 27th 2024Enjoy this first installment of The Long-Term Care Chronicles With Robbie Hilliard, MSN, RN CIC, a column about managing special infection control situations in the long-term care patient population. This installment is about when 2 experts conflict about best care.