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Author name: Janel Ranaan

Janel Nour-Omid was inspired to start Vitalacy after losing her grandfather to a Healthcare-Acquired Infection. Through her background in computer science and product development and deep fascination in human behavior, she launched the Vitalacy platform designed to protect caregivers and patients from preventable infections and conditions. She was recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 in Healthcare in 2020.

Hand Hygiene Monitoring System - Hand Washing Sensor - Nosocomial Infection

Infection Preventionists and Antimicrobial Stewards Need Better Tools, Data and Support

Best Practices, Safety Culture, Technology / By

A recently published paper (Nori et al., 2022) shines a light on the challenges endured by the infection prevention (IP) and antimicrobial stewardship (AS) workforce since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Published in Antimicrobial Stewardship and Healthcare Epidemiology, the paper describes situations contributing to burnout, as described in the next three paragraphs, and suggests …

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Dedicated Student Studying - Infection Prevention Insights

How to Recruit, Train and Retain Infection Preventionists – Advice from the Frontlines

Best Practices, Infectious Disease / By

“People don’t realize the toll [the pandemic has] taken on the infectious disease response folks,” said infectious disease epidemiologist and infection preventionist (IP) Saskia Popescu in a recent Huffington Post article (Wong, 2022). Having experienced vitriol from people against scientists, Popescu remains committed to applying the infection prevention and control (IPC) lessons learned during the …

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Making A Financial Case for Automated Hand Hygiene Compliance. Part 3: Cost of Penalties and Burnout

Hand Hygiene / By

The first two parts of this series about how to make a financial case for automated, or electronic, hand hygiene compliance systems covered the costs of healthcare-acquired infections (Nour-Omid, July 26, 2021) and the costs of direct observation of care providers’ compliance (Nour-Omid, Aug. 16, 2021). This article covers the cost of penalties received by …

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Medical professional wearing a protective face shield, mask, and scrub cap looking out of a window.

Healthcare-Acquired COVID Infections Signal A Need for IPC Culture in Hospitals

Infectious Disease / By

Protecting patients and workers inside of a hospital from the spread of infectious pathogens requires testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and data – information about care providers’ compliance with infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures. In the case of COVID, it also requires vaccination. All of these tools are needed for hospitals to create and …

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Cartoon illustration of two medical professionals and a businessman, with one using a hand hygiene device near a door.

Making A Financial Case for Automated Hand Hygiene Compliance. Part 2: Cost of Direct Observation

Hand Hygiene / By

Our previous blog article about making a financial case for automated hand hygiene compliance covered the costs of healthcare-acquired infections. In this one, we’ll explain why the money spent on direct observation often leads to misleading compliance data. It’s clear that direct observation inflates hand hygiene compliance rates (Nour-Omid, 2021), according to evidence found in …

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Illustration featuring money bags, scales of justice, a bus, and hands being sanitized.

Making the Financial Case for Automated Hand Hygiene Compliance. Part 1: The Costs of HAIs

Hand Hygiene, Patient Satisfaction / By

How do you make a financial case for investing in an automated hand hygiene compliance system during a time of tight budgets? Consider two scenarios – first, a hospitalized patient acquires a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) due to inadequate hand hygiene, and a second, proper hand hygiene that saves the patient from getting this …

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Healthcare professional in blue scrubs holding a clipboard and writing, with a stethoscope around the neck.

5 Studies Show How Direct Observation Inflates Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates Due to Hawthorne Effect

Case Studies, Hand Hygiene / By

In today’s fast-paced, high-stress health care environment, it can be tempting to skip a hand wash if no one is looking. A hand wash is required when entering and leaving patient rooms, after touching a patient or equipment, and after removing gloves and handling specimens. Because germs may reside on virtually anything you touch – …

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A healthcare worker wearing a wristband approaches an automated hand sanitizer dispenser next to a digital display showing hand hygiene compliance metrics.

Four COVID-19 Precautions Against Infections That Are Likely Here to Stay

Infectious Disease / By

If there’s any silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that hospitals and long-term care facilities now have precautions in place that can lead to lower morbidity and mortality from healthcare-acquired infections in the future. COVID-19 has improved awareness of how diligent attention to hand hygiene, mask wearing, physical distancing, and other safeguards can reduce …

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Healthcare worker in scrubs and a mask, wearing a wristband and sanitizing her hands.

COVID-19 Raises Stakes for HAI Prevention, Hand Hygiene in Hospitals

Hand Hygiene, Infectious Disease / By

Recent data published by two respected scientific journals show a link between COVID-19 and higher rates of nosocomial infections, also referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), and demonstrate the importance of hand hygiene compliance in infection prevention. According to an American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC, 2020) commentary titled “Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on hospital acquired …

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Illustration of a patient in bed being monitored by an overhead optical sensor for fall prevention.

Vitalacy Fall Alert Solution Ready for Beta Testing; Apply to Become a Partner!

Technology / By

Fall prevention is a vexing problem for virtually all hospitals and long-term care facilities. The high number and cost of patient falls is well-documented, as are the risks falls pose to your organization’s reputation. Current solutions, such as virtual or in-person sitters, are costly and often don’t work well (Greeley, et al.,2020). Bed alarms produce …

Vitalacy Fall Alert Solution Ready for Beta Testing; Apply to Become a Partner! Read More »