If you spend any time at all in the world of infection control and prevention, you've run across the NHSN, or National Healthcare Safety Network. Those of us who are not directly involved with infection control, however, may lack a full understanding of what the NHSN truly is. Today's post is for those of us who work on the periphery of infection control efforts: An introduction to the NHSN.
A couple years back, the EOSCU Team had the honor of presenting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) campus outside of Atlanta, GA. During the meeting with the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, we were able to share information about our product as well as data from our first clinical study. This meeting was anything but one-sided, however - the experts at the CDC were able to identify directions and partnerships we should explore in the future. This visit prompted us to present this post about the CDC, and what it does for our nation and the world on a daily basis.
We've covered Candida auris in this blog before. Not only has it been one of the pathogens of concern cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this fungus also infected record numbers of inpatients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This disease-causing pathogen has hit headlines once again, this time brining attention to troubling increases in rates and resistance. What can hospitals - and patients - do to avoid this dangerous hospital-associated infection?
Every field has its own jargon, vocabulary, and acronyms. Infection control and prevention is no different! In today's post, we'll look at some of the lesser-known acronyms that every infection prevention professional should know. For those topics we have covered elsewhere in the blog, you will find a link to that page. So grab your spoons and get ready for some alphabet soup!
One of the most lasting positive impacts of the COVID pandemic was the increased accessibility to telehealth, including remote appointments, mailed prescriptions, and doctor-patient email communications. Many of us may not realize that another offshoot of this move to telehealth is the idea of hospital-at-home, a practice of providing acute treatment to patients in their own homes. There are many benefits to this model, not the least of which is allowing patients to avoid a hospital room potentially contaminated with dangerous bacteria. In view of this trend, what is the place of hospital infection control and prevention in a world of hospital-at-home? In today's post, we'll explore what this trend means for hospitals and patients in the future.
Last Saturday concluded Patient Safety Awareness Week but like the members of the APIC would say, every day is for patient safety. One such member and the name sake of this organization's most prestigious award, the Carole DeMille Achievement Award, is the topic of todays' post. As we near the end of women's history month, let's celebrate the infection preventionist in whose honor the award is given, a story that reveals much about the behind-the-scenes progress in the field.
Patient safety is a topic we often cover in this blog; it is a central concern of anyone involved in the healthcare industry. However, we may not stop and consider the many facets of safety. "Safety" immediately brings to mind protection from physical harm, but to a patient and a community, safety can mean so much more. In today's post, we'll look at five facets of patient safety, and how together, they create an environment where patients and their communities can heal.
Today we pulled together a few of our previous posts about patient safety in honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week. We believe that all our posts focus on patient safety, but these are the ones that provide actionable items for you or a loved one.
Radical. Unconventional. Irreverent. Dr. Abigail Salyers entered the field of microbiology as an outsider and ended up bringing the field into a new era with her insights, sense of humor, and endless dedication. It took someone with her outsider status to see microbiology in a new light- or rather, in darkness, as today's post will explore - and leave us with a legacy of discovery and leadership.
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Advisory addresses an increase in "extensively-drug-resistant" (XDR) Shigella, the strain that caused 5% of cases of shigellosis in 2022, up from 0% in 2015. Antibiotic resistance has been a top priority for years with national and world health organizations, so what sets this particular strain apart? In today's post, we will cover the 5 things you need to know about this strain of Shigella.
