Discover the power of non-punitive approaches and technology in building a culture of safety in healthcare. Insights from Carlos Molina, Director of Client Experience at Vitalacy Inc., offer valuable strategies for promoting patient safety and engagement.
During the 1980s, I was working at Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory (LPARL) with a focus on high performance computing. In 1986, LPARL provided a grant to CalTech to evaluate the viability of their Hypercube Concurrent Computers for the future computational needs of the company. While visiting Caltech, I attended a lecture by John Hopfield, …
The new Hospital Safety Grade report reveals the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient safety and experience. Learn how hospitals can address the challenges facing them with advanced disinfection.
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 …
Infection Preventionists and Antimicrobial Stewards Need Better Tools, Data and Support Read More »
A Texas mom exemplifies the helplessness felt by many parents as the nation’s pediatric wards fill with young children afflicted by respiratory illnesses. After her 5-week-old daughter Lily experienced three days of supplemental oxygen at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Rebecca Lara told ABC News’ Whit Johnson that she felt “helpless. You don’t really know …
A review of medical research shows that racial and ethnic minorities, as well as individuals living under less-than-optimal socioeconomic conditions, are more likely to be hospitalized with serious medical conditions due to having less access to preventive care and to other socioeconomic factors. For example, Doshi, et al., 2017, provides proof that racial and ethnic …
Working as an infection preventionist (IP), I have been called a spy, an observer, and big brother watching you. I have been called these names by surveyors, senior executives, and clinical staff while I was monitoring and evaluating hand hygiene compliance. I have stood on units and watched the observations of staff by hand hygiene …
Four Secrets of Hand Hygiene Compliance From An Infection Preventionist Read More »
A lack of real-time feedback and coaching about hand hygiene was one of the major barriers to hand hygiene compliance, according to survey results presented by a hospital network at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) 2022 Annual Conference (Ward, 2022). Among the 1,001 health care workers who completed the survey, …
How Wearable Tech Can Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance Read More »
In a recent article for Infection Control Today (Aug. 8, 2022), Kevin Kavanaugh, M.D., warns of the triple threat of polio, monkeypox, and COVID variants. He calls upon infection preventionists to encourage the continued adoption of public health strategies. “It is apparent we cannot simply vaccinate our way back to normal,” he writes. Polio’s reemergence …
‘We cannot simply vaccinate our way back to normal’ Read More »
Have you ever been frustrated by an empty sanitizer dispenser when you have wanted to wash your hands? Would reminders to wash your hands be helpful during the course of a busy shift? Empty sanitizer dispensers and a lack of real-time feedback and coaching about hand hygiene can be major barriers to hand hygiene compliance, …
