QUAT Cleaners: A Critical Analysis of their Use

by Erica Mitchell | February 16 2024

Achieving and maintaining sanitized surfaces in hospitals requires an arsenal cleaning and disinfecting products, with quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or QUATs) being a popular choice. However, as with all cleaners and disinfectants, there are both benefits and risks to their use. In today's post, we'll explore the use of quaternary ammonium compounds and some growing concerns about their impact.

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Hospital Acquired Infections and Hospitals Acquired by Private Equity: The Dangerous Correlation

by Erica Mitchell | January 8 2024

About a quarter of American hospitals are for-profit, that is, they are operated to generate profit for owners and stakeholders. A subsection of those hospitals, about 3%, have been acquired through private equity (PE) buyouts, whereby a PE firm raises funds to purchase a hospital. These PE transactions, also called "takeovers," are characteristically funded through leveraged debt - the firm takes out a loan secured by the purchased entity (the hospital), adding the burden of that debt to the balance sheet (and monthly expenses) of that facility. As a result, hospitals acquired by PE firms face additional pressures; they are operated not only to generate profit but also must repay large amounts of debt, used to fund the acquisition and now added to their balance sheet. A recent study looked into this subsection of hospitals to see how this added financial pressure impacted patient outcomes. The results? Patients are 25% more likely to be harmed by medical care at a private-equity acquired facility.

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The PCAST Patient Safety Report Unpacked (Part 2): All About Evidence-Based Solutions

by Erica Mitchell | September 25 2023

In our last post, we introduced the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report on patient safety. Today we will focus on how hospital-associated infections are specifically addressed in the report and the report's emphasis on evidence based solutions to address HAIs and other preventable harm to patients. 

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The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology: The Patient Safety Report Unpacked

by Erica Mitchell | September 15 2023

This past month, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) submitted a report focused on recommendations around patient safety. In today's post, we'll explore who PCAST is, how they pulled together the report, their main recommendations, and in a future post, we will examine what this could mean for our nation's approach to infection control and prevention. Let's dive in!

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Bacterial Armor: The Germs that Become Tanks and How to Eradicate Them

by Erica Mitchell | July 10 2023

Eradicating pathogens from environmental surfaces in hospitals is a daily fight. Keeping bacteria from reproducing on surfaces, finding reservoirs in hard-to-clean areas, and forming biofilms requires daily disinfection, and ideally, some form of continuous mitigation. In today's post, we will look at the threats posed by bacteria that are even more adept at surviving on surfaces: Spore-forming bacteria, and how hospitals are trying to keep these persistent pathogens from threatening their patients.

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Canada's PMRA and the United States' EPA Registrations: A Comparison

by Erica Mitchell | June 19 2023

Almost every country has a government agency responsible for the health and safety of its citizens and its environment. Where those two departments overlap is often where pesticides and germicides are regulated. At this intersection are those chemicals that, if released into the environment, could cause damage, but which, within healthcare facilities, are required in order to kill dangerous pathogens. In today's post, we'll explore two such departments in neighboring nations, the United States and Canada.

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DALYs and QALYs + HAIs: The Costly Connection

by Erica Mitchell | June 12 2023

In our previous posts about DALYs and QALYs, we have defined the terms and presented how the healthcare field calculates these two measures of disease burden. In today's post, we will narrow our view to just hospital-associated infections and their disease burden. After reading this post, you should have a more detailed picture of the impact HAIs have on American lives.

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How Can a Healthcare Investment Increase Market Share AND Reduce Cost of Care? Focus on Infection Prevention.

by Erica Mitchell | May 15 2023

Large-scale healthcare projects, from new projects to renovations, face a challenging future. After the tedious process of securing permits and getting approved plans and even issuing press releases, many of these ambitious projects stall due to financial pressures. Increasingly, healthcare systems may hit the pause button as they take a closer look at cost-benefits, with emphases on expanding market share and reducing cost of care. In today's post, we will look at how a healthcare project can help achieve both goals by focusing on proven infection prevention infrastructure.

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What Do HAI Professionals Think about HAI Metrics? A Study Reveals The Answer

by Erica Mitchell | May 1 2023

One of the most tracked and reported metrics in today's healthcare facilities is infection rates. Anyone working in a hospital is aware of the importance of keeping these rates as low as possible, as they impact not only patient outcomes, but reimbursement rates and facility reputation as well. It may be an assumption by the general public that these rates are an objective metric with little grey area. However, a recent study investigated what infection prevention experts think about these metrics, and the results may surprise you!

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Infection Control and the Healthcare Supply Chain: Who Makes Decisions?

by Erica Mitchell | April 24 2023

Last week we provided a big-picture overview of the healthcare supply chain, from supplier to patient. This week, we will dig deeper into this process and try to identify places along the supply chain where decisions can impact infection control and prevention. While all hospitals must meet EPA- and FDA-mandated standards for cleanliness and device protocols, there is room for individual choices in how each facility will prepare and respond to pathogens. So where along supply chain are decisions made that influence infection control?

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© EOS Surfaces and EOScu Blog, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to EOS Surfaces and EOScu Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.