Clean Hands Week

Did you know that September 20-26 was Clean Hands Week? The Clean Hands Coalition established International Clean Hands Week in order to raise awareness not only about the importance of hand washing, but also to stress the importance of washing your hands correctly. With flu season underway, correct hand hygiene is extremely critical in order to prevent infection. Remember these tips when washing so as to ensure maximum results:

1. Wash for at least 20 seconds
2. Scrub in between fingers and under where you have jewelery (ie: bracelets and rings)
3. Lather well, then rinse. When you're done, use a paper towel to turn off the faucet.

Happy hand washing!

CDC Giving $40 million to states to help with HAIs

The CDC has announced it's plans to distribute $40 million to state health departments to help prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the money will be distributed through cooperative agreements to 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. CDC estimates that every year, Americans contract 1.7 million infections while being treated in hospitals. These infections are associated with approximately 99,000 deaths annually. In addition to the significant toll on patients' lives, HAIs represent an estimated $30 billion in added healthcare costs.

The money is going to be used to maximize prevention efforts like:
* Creating or expanding state and local efforts to implement recommendations in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HAI Action Plan
* Increasing healthcare facilities' and health departments' use of CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network, a surveillance system that allows HAI data to be tracked, analyzed and compared for prevention efforts
* Hiring and training public health staff to promote and lead HAI prevention initiatives
* Complementing HAI investments from other HHS agencies

To find out more, visit Infection Control Today.

CT Plans for More Strict HAI Reporting Laws

Connecticut state leaders are advocating for more strict laws regarding the reporting of healthcare-associated infections. Sen. Jonathan A. Harris said he would consider tougher reporting laws so patients and their families can get better information on the performance of their local hospitals. In addition, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he will urge lawmakers to remove barriers to full disclosure of incident rates across state hospitals. Since 2004, when the state adopted national guidelines for which "never events" need to be reported, Connecticut hospitals have had 1,056 adverse events -- an average of about 240 a year. In addition, since then there have been 107 deaths documented as resulting from adverse events. Jean Rexford, of the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety, said that patient care will improve only when the state does a better job of making medical mistakes more transparent.

Keep working hard Connecticut!

To read more, click here.

More People Die From Medical Errors Than Car Crashes

According to a new report from the Hearst Corporation called "Dead By Mistake", as many as 200,000 Americans die every year from preventable medical mistakes and hospital infections. That means that "more people die each month of preventable medical injuries than died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001," Hearst Newspapers Editor-at-Large Phil Bronstein, who oversaw the project, said. "The annual medical error death toll is higher than that for fatal car crashes."

The report found that the federal government and most states have made little or no progress in improving patient safety, as 20 states have no medical error reporting at all, five states have voluntary reporting systems and five are developing reporting systems. In terms of public disclosure, 45 states currently do not release hospital-specific information.

To read more about the report and it's findings, click here.

H1N1 Vaccine- Recommendations from the CDC

The CDC has published recommendations for the new vaccine for the H1N1 virus.

The vaccine will be made available for the following populations:
* pregnant women
* people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
* health care and emergency services personnel
* persons between the ages of 6 months through 24 years of age
* people from ages 25 through 64 years who are at higher risk for novel H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems

That's about 159 million people in the United States who qualify for the vaccine. Although the quanity of the vaccine may be limited, a shortage isn't expected.

To read more on the vaccine and to see if you qualify, visit Infection Control Today.

School Year Looms, CDC Prepares for Swine Flu

With the school year only about a month away, the CDC is monitoring the fall's flu season warily. Why? It appears that the virus this fall differs from regular (seasonal) flu and is hitting more children and young adults than the elderly. CDC spokesperson Tom Skinner has said that the CDC would be coming out with comprehensive guidance for schools in August. The strategy will include “trying to identify cases before they come into the school; good hand hygiene and isolating sick kids,” he said. The CDC is also going to tell parents “don’t send kids to school when they’re sick.” However, the CDC warns, regular flu shots probably won't protect kids from this strain of flu. Efforts to develop a vaccine targeting H1N1 are underway, and it’s possible that two injections (several weeks apart) will be required.

How do you protect your children from getting this fall's flu virus? First and foremost, the CDC recommends basic hygiene, such as hand washing and covering your mouth and nose with the crook of your elbow when sneezing or coughing.

To read more, click here.

Honey Can Kill MRSA?

Scientists have recently discovered that a specific type of honey, Manuka honey, is highly effective at killing the multi-resistant “superbug” MRSA. Most infections that are known as "superbugs" are antibiotic-resistant. That there is no apparent “intrinsic resistance” to the special properties of at least this one type of honey, means there might be a way to prevent the process of generating honey-resistant bacteria, buying time to develop treatments that could eradicate the threat of MRSA infection. Scientists in Australia are now working to test the honey and it's properties and eventually hope to develop a form of treatment for MRSA.

To read more click here!