Doctors’ Swipe Cards Pose Superbug Risk
from Legal & Medical Magazine
 Doctors’ swipe cards, used to gain access in and around the hospital, are a potential source of hospital-acquired infection, according to research published by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) of England. The study demonstrates that swipe cards, increasingly prevalent in hospitals for security reasons, are a threat to hospital infection management. More
Hospital Gown Disposal Procedure Helps Reduce MRSA Cases
from FierceHealthcare
Research found that MRSA infection rates dropped by 62 percent when hospital gowns were balled up and stuffed into disposable gloves, Reuters reports. Jasper Palmer, a patient advocate and escort at the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia pioneered the new safety procedure. Einstein's chief quality officer, Dr. Jeff Cohn, followed up to see how effective it would be to combat MRSA. The glove effectively seals used hospital gowns and prevents germs from spreading.
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University Researchers To Develop Coatings That Kill Superbugs
from Medical News Today
Researchers at the University of Bath are to be part of a 3 million Euro Europe-wide research collaboration to pioneer research into safer, more effective anti-bacterial plastics and coatings that can be used in items such as food packaging, medical devices to wound dressings, and nappies. More
Germ-killing Keyboard Marketed to Hospitals
from WOAI
A Bothell, Washington startup is looking to keep people healthy by zapping germs off computer keyboards, starting with local hospitals. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimate up to 99,000 people die each year from hospital-acquired infections. The makers of the Vioguard keyboard hope to cut that number by a quarter with their product, though that number is a point of contention among health professionals. More
ASHES Web Cast: Staffing for a Troubled Economy
from ASHES
Are you managing your ES department staff efficiently? With today's economy, the stakes are high. The web cast "Staffing for a Troubled Economy" will give you the tools to justify the staff needed to maintain a high-quality, patient-centered operation. ASHES member, Robert Hodnik, presents an innovative task frequency analysis model to determine staffing needs. Participants will learn to utilize a quantitative model of productivity based upon fixed and variable tasks performed rather than traditional methods such as square footage. This model can be a useful means of documenting, in an objective manner, the number of employees necessary to achieve departmental and institutional goals. Register today to participate in this valuable learning experience. More
New Way to Battle MRSA and Superbugs
from Science Daily
Experts from Queen's University Belfast have developed new agents to fight MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to antibiotics. The fluids are a class of ionic liquids that not only kill colonies of these dangerous microbes, they also prevent their growth. More
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Product Showcase: Activeion Pro
 The Activeion Pro transforms tap water into a powerful cleaner freeing healthcare professionals from the impact of cleaning chemicals. In fact, the Activeion Pro can eliminate up to 47 of today’s general-purpose, glass, and carpet cleaning chemicals, resulting in lower costs, simplified processes, and safer environments for their patients and employees. Visit this site today.
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Environmental Cleaning Intervention Reduces Transmission of Multidrug-resistant Organisms in ICUs
from SHEA
A rigorous environmental cleaning intervention can reduce the transmission of MRSA and other multidrug- resistant organisms in hospital intensive care units (ICUs), according to a new study released at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Researchers found that following an enhanced cleaning protocol reduced the spread of MRSA to patients exposed to rooms in which the prior occupant had been colonized or infected. More
GAO Report Calls for Continued Leadership
from GAO
A March 2008 report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) called for more healthcare leadership in order to improve prevention practices and data collection concerning healthcare-associated infections (HAI).
The GAO held the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) specifically accountable for promoting the implementation of CDC recommendations, beginning with guided prioritization for healthcare facilities. The report noted that while the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and accrediting agencies, such as The Joint Commission, incorporate a few of the CDC’s nearly 1,200 recommendations in their regulations and standards, it is not reasonable to expect those organizations to require additional recommendations without prioritizing them.
The report also noted that HHS needs to do a better job of effectively using the HAI data collected through multiple databases. Additionally there needs to be greater consistency and compatibility with future data collection in order to highlight specific areas of concern.
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