Most healthcare-acquired infections are preventable if healthcare facilities follow good infection prevention practices, such as proper hand washing, sterile techniques and cleaning and disinfection of medical equipment and high-touch surfaces in the patient room, according to an article on the Future of Healthcare website.
Research shows that when healthcare facilities take specific steps, infection rates can be decreased by as much as 70 percent.
Hospital and health system leaders set the tone by making infection prevention and control an organizational priority by supporting their infection prevention departments with enough staff, training and resources to run effective facility-wide programs.
Leveraging the value of specially-trained professionals who can engage frontline providers to bring the best available evidence-based practice to patient care.