When Kevin Edwards, an IEHA Master Certified Environmental Services Executive, first arrived at the VA Medical Center at Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 2019, he found a facility in trouble. A lack of training, purpose, and attention to detail among the facilities staff led to the hospital being ranked #55 in the VA system for cleanliness. ...
Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus.
The increase in HAIs (healthcare-associated infections) during 2021-22 has raised concerns about patient safety in the most recent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report. During this timeframe, there was an all-hands-on-deck focus on Covid 19 – caring for patients, assuring healthcare workers’ safety, and controlling the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Until then, efforts to identify HAI causes ...
The microbial battlefront is a complex array of variables in today’s global public health, community, healthcare, and long-term environmental settings. While the ongoing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issue is at the top of the list of concerns, there is another often hidden war going on at the surface. On that surface sits one of the most ...
I was thrilled to read the recent article published by the American Society for Microbiology, “The Role of Bacterial Biofilms in Antimicrobial Resistance,” by Andrea Prinzi, Ph.D., MPH, SM (ASCP) and Rodney Rohde, Ph.D. It is time we understand why surfaces play such a key role in spreading deadly pathogens, and this article tells the ...
The ability to clean and disinfect surfaces in hospitals is an issue of utmost importance to public health – but is not often discussed with the public. The Washington State Nurses Association brought it front and center when they filed a complaint with the Washington State Department of Health, claiming “compromised mattresses in hospitals pose ...
My name is Mary Millard, and I am a patient who lives with a chronic healthcare-associated infection (HAI). This is my story. Up until the fall of 2014, I was a healthy 55-year-old with an exceptional life. I enjoyed playing beach volleyball, running with my dog, and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains when I ...
In Part 1 of this series, costs related to disinfection and surface incompatibility were reported as upwards of $4.1 million for one device at one hospital in a co-published case study. Part 2 described what factors contribute to surface disinfection compatibility issues. Here, Part 3 will highlight how surface disinfection incompatibility increases costs for healthcare facilities if contributing factors aren’t taken into ...
A real-world patient care room – full of critical furnishings, equipment, and tools – comprises hundreds of different surface materials. Unfortunately, the reality is that most of these surfaces cannot be effectively disinfected and harbor microbes that cause deadly infections. Drive change! Here are five steps healthcare professionals can take right now to reduce healthcare-associated ...
As we explained in Part 1 of this series, Surface Disinfection Compatibility Part 1: What Is It?, infection prevention teams, healthcare facilities designers, and manufacturers of products used for patient care and within the healthcare setting materials do not have the guidance and information they need to address surface disinfection compatibility issues adequately. A lack of ...
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