This week's coverage in Infection Control Today centered on a common thread: the systems, partnerships, and data that let infection prevention teams catch problems before patients are harmed.
|Articles|March 11, 2022
Weekly Rounds: Emojitoons, Improper Sterilization at Veterans Affairs Hospital, and More
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending March 11.
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Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.
1. Emojitoons: Selling Infection Prevention Compliance With Avatars
Compliance has increased up to 50% on key infection prevention and control practices at a South Carolina health system due to these short emoji-cartoons.
2. Improper Sterilization at Veterans Affairs Hospital Could Have Exposed Thousands to HIV, Hepatitis
A letter has been sent to more than 4500 veterans stating that reusable instruments used in medical procedures may not have been sterilized properly at a Georgia hospital.
3. COVID-19 Brain Changes: New Evidence Details Long-Term Effects of Infection A new study supports the conclusion that the “brain fog” reported by many who have recovered from mild COVID-19 infection is real and has an anatomical basis.
4. To the Next Normal After COVID-19: Leading Health Experts Offer “Roadmap”
A comprehensive blueprint on how to be better prepared for the future as COVID-19 becomes endemic and the world faces future pandemics.
5. COVID-19 Lessons for Infection Prevention: APIC's Recommendations to Be Better Prepared for Next Time
Key recommendations in the report include normalizing mask wearing and avoiding the supply chain failures.
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Related to this article
What might infection prevention rounds miss when visible conditions dominate the conversation? Tommy Davis, PhD, CMIP, a member of ICT's executive advisory board, makes the case for structured observations of clinical workflows, shared accountability, and greater attention to environmental services staff’s insights.
A shifting mask or fogged eyewear can interrupt focus when precision matters most. Dana Weaver Storm, MHA, BSN, RN, examines the challenges of prolonged surgical mask use and how perioperative leaders can support comfort, visibility, and consistent adherence.
Turnover pressure can leave critical OR cleaning steps unfinished. Karen deKay, MSN, RN, EBP-C, CNOR, CIC, FAPIC, examines common gaps in environmental hygiene and how shared responsibilities, attention to disinfectant contact time, and ongoing education can help teams strengthen practices between cases.
Infection Control Today celebrates 30 years of covering the people, science, and challenges shaping infection prevention with another milestone: its first digital magazine, featuring outbreak analysis, biosecurity, respiratory testing, sterile processing, professional leadership, conference coverage, and more.
How do you celebrate an infection that never happened?
That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers.
Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.
Knowing the protocol is only the beginning. In The Clean Bite, Sherrie Busby explores how explaining the why, addressing staff concerns, and creating clear procedures can help dental teams make infection control part of everyday practice.
A followed procedure can still leave patients at risk if it no longer matches validated requirements. Annetta L. McKnight, MHA, BSN, CRCST, CER, examines how infection prevention and sterile processing can identify process drift, assess disruptions, and strengthen shared oversight of medical device reprocessing.
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