Category: Infection Control

How 1 hospital leader secured more clinical staff, drove down HAIs

While many hospitals were trimming budgets and enforcing hiring freezes, infection prevention manager Luz Caicedo successfully doubled her department’s workforce at AdventHealth Celebration (Fla.) hospital. 

2 new fungal infections emerge in US, what to know

Experts at New York City-based NYU Langone Health are warning healthcare providers to be aware of two highly contagious fungal infections causing rashes, according to a June 5 news release shared with Becker’s.

How Banner Health reduced surgical site infections by 32% for some procedures

Incidence of surgical site infections declined at multiple hospitals across six states by 32.8% for some procedures after Phoenix-based Banner Health introduced a comprehensive surgical site infection prevention bundle, which included a focus on a surg…

Shouldn't Instructions for Use be Useful?

Consider the ubiquitous blood pressure cuffs and the glucometer as a microcosm for what is wrong with medical instrument cleaning instructions in healthcare today.

Nurse leaders to join CDC advisory group weighing looser mask rules

Two nurse leaders have been invited to join the CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, National Nurses United said.

A new emerging fungal threat

Researchers in New York have found an emerging threat of ringworm fungus, Trichophyton indotineae, which is often resistant to standard therapy, according to a study published May 15 in JAMA Dermatology. 

27% of ED visits tied to inappropriate antibiotics, study suggests

More than one-fourth of emergency department visits nationwide may result in inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, according to a study published May 14 in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. 

Medical device instructions need a rewrite, APIC says

Instructions for medical devices are unnecessarily complex, and the federal process for these labels needs an overhaul, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. 

Medical device instructions need a rewrite, APIC says

Instructions for medical devices are unnecessarily complex, and the federal process for these labels needs an overhaul, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. 

VA hospital halts surgeries after residue found on equipment

Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., is temporarily halting surgeries after an unknown residue was found on reusable medical equipment, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s May 10.