Our Updates

Are your healthcare staff and community members aware of the five basic infection prevention principles? While these can seem like second nature to an Infection Preventionist, assuming that your healthcare staff know how to implement proper infection control practices can be dangerous. There’s also a gap between knowing what you need to do, and complying with it during a busy shift. What’s more, members of your wider hospital community, including visitors and delivery or service personnel, may never have learned basic infection prevention that you take for granted.

If it hasn’t already, chances are that COVID-19 may spread to your community. As of April 21, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC) reports 802,583 cases of infection and 44,575 deaths in 50 states, and 5 jurisdictions. How could you possibly prepare IP policies to support healthcare staff who may soon be treating infected patients for an outbreak that WHO declared a pandemic on March 11? With the situation changing fast, staying abreast of the latest updates is imperative to formulating an appropriate response. 

Working with animals opens up veterinary professionals to unique bacterial and viral threats. Despite this, research published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice shows that even basic hygiene practices in small animal private practice are followed poorly — with less than 50% of study respondents reporting even regular hand washing between handling patients. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), a breach in infection control can undo even a veterinary team’s best work and lead to negative medical, social, and financial impacts on the patient, clients, and treating practitioners. 

According to this article in AreaDentist, there are over 200,000 practicing dentists in the United States today —and that number is growing by the year. While each practice is unique, they all have at least one thing in common; the regular use of disposable gloves.

Disposable gloves are an essential item in any healthcare environment. They not only protect healthcare providers and patients from exposure to potentially dangerous microbes, they also help set a precedent of hygiene and care across the industry. While this shouldn’t come as a surprise, what you might not have realized is that disposable gloves aren’t all created equal.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of February 24th, the latest coronavirus outbreak has approximately 80,000 confirmed cases of infection globally, with 35 confirmed cases in the United States. Officially called COVID-19, the widespread nature of the outbreak puts communities and healthcare professionals at a higher risk of contact and infection than otherwise assumed. Here’s what you need to know about the virus and the disease it causes, and what can be done to protect healthcare professionals who may be treating infected patients in the near future: