Safety - October 2013

Going green in managing waste can be cost effective

Minimizing what goes into the trash can and save money on supplies, resources and operations

10/31/2013

Vinyl flooring linked to potentially harmful substances

Flooring contains potentially dangerous phthalates which are also food packaging, medical devices, and even pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and soaps

10/30/2013

Keeping chiropractic tables clean

Study says only 62 percent of chiropractors had a routine chiropractic table disinfection protocol in place

10/30/2013

Memorial Hermann Healthcare System engineering a fail-safe health system

Quality departments were centralized, all employees were trained on the principles of high reliability, protocols were created for most medical procedures

10/29/2013

Washington hospital prepares for disaster

Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington participates in a state-wide earthquake drill

10/28/2013

Social network model proposed to fight hospital infections

Study focused on interactions between patients and healthcare workers and the multiple competing factors that can affect transmission

10/28/2013

Ten major infection control stories from the summer and fall

Last five months have been eventful for infection control

10/28/2013

Hospital team's response during Marathon bombings offers lessons for management under pressure.

Successful medical response in Boston was based on relationships across disciplines

10/25/2013

What's holding us back from handwashing?

A nurse who survived a severe hospital acquired infection and the physician who created "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" program discuss handwashing compliance

10/25/2013

Thai healthcare system disaster management looks at Japan model

After tsunami, Japanese hospital has disaster-emergency unit staffed by a team of five permanent medical team

10/24/2013

Three of Ireland's major hospitals reported to have serious infection risks

Inspectors say patients are at serious risk of infection or scalding, while some medical equipment was dirty and staff failed to wash their hands

10/24/2013

Study shows low levels of hand hygiene compliance in pediatric hospitals

Education about the appropriate use of alcohol-based hand rub recommended for these facilities

10/23/2013

Connecticut hospital tests and trains emergency responders

Nearly 100 hospital employees, local emergency responders, volunteers and high school students took part in a mock disaster drill at Milford Hospital

10/23/2013

Thirteen organizational assessment steps to maintain a culture of safety

An assessment strategy to determine whether an organization is maintaining a culture of safety includes evaluation of training, behavior and leadership

10/23/2013

New safety measures put focus on best practices

Leadership from the executive ranks called antidote to poor compliance

10/22/2013

Answers to hospital fall prevention issues vary

Lack of safety equipment usage, understaffing among hospital concerns

10/22/2013

Biometric tools finding a new place in health care

Using fingerprints and iris patterns to validate identity is just beginning to play a role

10/21/2013

Free downloadable patient safety handwashing tools

Hand washing suffers from perennially bad compliance rates, sometimes as low as 40 percent in healthcare settings, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control

10/21/2013

Technology is a key to managing vendor and visitor access to health care facilities

Survey reports majority of facilities use a vendor management system to screen, badge and track every vendor. And 38 percent of respondents said they use a visitor management system to screen, badge and track every visitor

10/21/2013

Contaminated bed linen key area of microbial and allergen accumulation

As modern day hospital infection control measures improve, there is an increased focus on bed linen and associated materials as possible sources of infection

10/18/2013

Norovirus a chronic problem in nursing homes, long-term care facilities in Oregon

Since 2002, norovirus has sickened more than 23,000 people in 714 outbreaks in Oregon's residential-care facilities

10/18/2013

Lack of single rooms called key element in infection control

Survey ranked single room's impact above that of more infection control nurses

10/18/2013

Preventing nursing home elopement

Facilities use monitoring, equipment and response planning to keep its patients safe

10/18/2013

NY health care workers get fire safety training

Fatal fire at Illinois nursing facility puts spotlight on program

10/17/2013

Infection prevention guide for outpatient settings available for download

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers free resource

10/16/2013

Visual inspection compared to other methods of assessing cleaning

Study showed that visual inspection performed at least as well as commercial methods

10/16/2013

Illinois hospital unveils new patient safety initiative

Ottawa facility is only in region to launch eICU remote monitoring technology

10/14/2013

New report estimates societal cost of HAIs at a high of nearly $150 billion annually

Earlier report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the direct medical costs of HAIs to U.S. hospitals as $28.4 billion to $33.8 billion per year

10/14/2013

Web-based training program lauded for improving worker safety

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center addressed the need for a consistent and standardized work-safety training program to meet regulatory requirements for its maintenance employees

10/10/2013