Ten Steps to Bug Control
from Emergency Medical Services Responder
ALS providers, like all EMS providers, are susceptible to exposure to infectious organisms. However, ALS providers, through various invasive procedures, face increased possibilities of spreading infectious agents between themselves and their patients. With a simple series of 10 steps, ALS providers can significantly reduce these exposures. Although most EMS providers think of infection-control procedures as a way to protect themselves from patients' diseases, they also protect the patient from infectious agents that may be present on the EMS provider or in the EMS environment. More

MRSA Cases on the Rise in N.H.
from The Eagle Tribune
A dangerous infection that used to affect mostly the chronically ill and the frailest of patients has gone on the attack against otherwise healthy people and is now widespread in local communities, medical professionals say. More

Machine-to-Machine Tracking System Helps Hospital Staff Locate Patients
from M2M
To track the movement of people in a medical setting, Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital, Tucson, Arizona, is using technology from Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS), Mission Viejo, Calif., to automatically monitor the location of employees and patients throughout its emergency department. Both patients and staff wear tags that communicate wirelessly using an ultrasound signal, which is picked up by receivers located throughout the department. According to PCTS, the ultrasound signals are contained in the room where they originate, which provides tracking accuracy as well as preventing electromagnetic interference with medical devices. More

Doctors and Dirty Stethoscopes: Why is Nobody Listening?
from Telegraph
If there's one piece of modern equipment that both symbolises the mystical authority of the doctor and provides a direct link between patient and physician, it's the stethoscope. From the day in 1816 when French physician René Laennec rolled up 24 sheets of paper and used le cylindre to listen to the chest of a female patient, the monaural stethoscope has evolved into the modern stereo versions – some of which now come complete with built-in MP3 players and trendy ringtones. Yet, as a report in a journal asks this month, how safe is this ubiquitous implement? There are few doctors from whose necks this device doesn't dangle, but they are often a breeding place for bugs. More

During Cold and Flu Season, Don’t Get Caught Dirty Handed
from Infection Control Today
New online educational materials remind young and old alike about the health benefits of frequent and proper hand hygiene: stopping germs and illness dead in their tracks. The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) have teamed up to produce hand hygiene education brochures. More

Ad: Hospitals Support Jobs, Economy
from AHA News Now
An AHA ad launched in Washington, D.C.-area publications highlights hospitals as "a bedrock source of jobs and economic growth in America's communities." It notes that hospitals support $1.9 trillion in economic activity and one-tenth of all private sector jobs, through direct employment and the goods and services from local businesses. More

Antibacterial Personal Hygiene Products May Not Be Worth Potential Risks
from Infection Control Today
A recent study by UC Davis researchers calls into question the widespread use of two active ingredients — triclocarban and triclosan — in personal hygiene products, including antibacterial bar and liquid soaps. Using human and animal cell lines, researchers found that triclocarban disrupts reproductive hormone activity and triclosan interferes with a type of cell signaling that occurs in brain, heart and other cells. "Americans spend nearly $1 billion dollars a year on these products even though recent studies show that they are no better than regular soap and water at reducing the spread of illness. Now we have added evidence that, in some cases, the benefits may not be worth the risks," said Dan Chang, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering. More

Reduce bed turnover time Learn how Premise helped a 1,000 bed hospital reduce its bed turnover time from eight hours to 30 minutes, while cutting related phone calls from 12 to just one. More

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