May 2015 Issue of Becker's Infection Control and Clinical Quality

On the Cover

	50 Experts Leading the Field of Patient Becker’s Hospital Review is pleased to announce the 2015 edition of its list of “50 Experts Leading the Field of Patient Safety.” Click here to continue >>
	How the VA, HCA  Dramatically Reduced MRSA Infections Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The bacterial condition may not be a household name per se, but among those in the healthcare community, the drug-resistant infection is one of the major proverbial dragons to be slain. Click here to continue >>
	Zero Injuries From  Patient Falls: One  Hospital Demonstrates How It’s Possible A fall can be “devastating” to a patient, especially elderly patients, says Jane McCurley, RN, the CNO of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas. “We don’t want them to fall and get hurt.” Click here to continue >>

Hospital & Health System CMO, CNO & Chief Quality Officer Moves

Infection Prevention 

Remedy From Ancient Textbook Could Cure MRSA, Scientists Find

A mixture of onion, garlic, wine and cow bile could prove to be the cure for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to researchers from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. Click here to continue >>

Cigarette Smoke Makes MRSA More Aggressive, Study Finds

When methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are exposed to cigarette smoke, they become even more resistant to being killed by a person’s immune system, according to research out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Click here to continue >>

SHEA Updates Hospital Visitor Recommendations to Limit Spread of Disease

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology has published new guidelines for hospitals and health systems looking to set up precautions for visitors who visit patients with infectious diseases. Click here to continue >>

Dogs Rule, and Other Infection Control Guidance for Animal Visits to Hospitals

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America has released new expert guidance on developing policies for animal visits to healthcare facilities, including service animals, pet therapy or personal pet visits. Click here to continue >>

Study Uncovers 3 Main Risk Factors for CAUTIs

There are many risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infections, including the ward in which the catheter insertion takes place, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Click here to continue >>

A Better Prescription for Minimizing HAIs: 8 Components of High-Performing Infection Prevention and Control Programs

Multiple regulatory initiatives are targeting the prevention and potential elimination of healthcare-associated infections — an adverse clinical outcome still seen in 1 out of 25 hospitalized patients despite focused performance improvement efforts at the national, state and local levels over the past decade. Click here to continue >>

Patient Engagement in HAI Reduction Strategies: 3 Takeaways

Slowly but surely, hospitals have been trying to encourage more active engagement of patients and families in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Click here to continue >>

8 Ways to Prevent Duodenoscope Infections

The American Gastroenterological Association convened a meeting with experts in gastroenterology, epidemiology and infectious disease to discuss how to prevent duodenoscope infections. Click here to continue >>

Executive Briefing: Infection Prevention Improvement

Just Because You are Using a Disinfectant Doesn’t Mean You are Disinfecting: The Business Case for Improving Infection Prevention

Healthcare-associated infections are the fifth leading cause of death in acute-care hospitals in the United States and the fourth leading cause of death in Canada. Click here to continue >>

Executive Briefing: Improving the Sterile Processing Department

How One Product Can Help Sterile Processing Departments Achieve Efficiency

Hospital’s sterile processing departments play an underthe-radar yet critically important role in patient care. Click here to continue >>

 Patient Satisfaction and Safety

Which States Have the Most CMS 5-Star Hospitals?

As of April 16, potential patients can see star ratings of hospitals on CMS’ Hospital Compare website. Which States Have the Most CMS 5-Star Hospitals?

Which States Have the Most CMS 5-Star Hospitals?

Just 251 hospitals earned the highest possible star rating as part of CMS’ Hospital Compare’s new rating system, and some states have many more five-star hospitals than others. Click here to continue >>

7 Procedures Where Patient Safety Events Occur Most Often

Three-quarters of hospital-reported patient safety events were concentrated within four patient safety indicators, according to analysis from Healthgrades, and those four events occurred most often in seven specific procedures or conditions. Click here to continue >>

Trends in Patient Experience Scores: 5 Takeaways

Data gained from HCAHPS scores over recent years indicate that the areas patients find most important to their overall experience are changing, according to a report published by Healthgrades. Click here to continue >>

5 Ways Hospitals Can Combat the ‘Weekend Effect’

Recent studies have found patients tend to experience more complications, longer stays and higher rates of readmission to the hospital on the weekend, raising the question: What can hospitals do differently? Click here to continue >>

Risk of Patient Harm in Hospitals Spikes on the Weekends

Patient admissions to hospitals may be higher doing the week but preventable complications — such as infections and falls — are more common in hospitals on weekends, according to a study published in BMJ. Click here to continue >>

4 Common Surgical Attire Safety Issues

Wearing proper attire in the operating room can help minimize risks of surgical site infections, but it can be difficult to get OR staff to break old habits that may not conform to recommended best practices, according to Lisa Spruce, DNP, RN, director of AORN’s Evidence-Based Perioperative Practice. Click here to continue >>

Hand Hygiene

Hand Hygiene Compliance Lags in Hospital Reception Areas, Study Finds

Improving hand hygiene compliance is an ongoing battle hospitals face, and there is major room for improvement in hospital reception areas, which may be overlooked, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Click here to continue >>

Direct Observation Dramatically Boosts Hand Hygiene Compliance

Healthcare workers under direct observation perform hand hygiene events nearly three times more often every hour than those not under observation, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Click here to continue >>

Study: Following the Hand Hygiene Leader

Senior health professionals and mentors play an important role in improving hand hygiene compliance, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Click here to continue >>

Handwashing Among Healthcare Workers Leads to Rise in Dermatitis

Efforts to enhance hand hygiene and reduce healthcare-associated infections have also led to the rise in dermatitis among healthcare workers, according to a study conducted by The University of Manchester. Click here to continue >>

Hand Hygiene Compliance Can Cause Dermatitis: 5 Tips to Avoid It

There has been a rise in dermatitis — inflammation, reddening and scaling of the skin — among healthcare workers, in part due to efforts to improve hand hygiene compliance, a recent study found. Click here to continue >>

Patient Safety Toolkit: Hand Hygiene 

10 Most Popular Patient Safety Tools

To supplement the material and analysis provided by Becker’s Clinical Quality and Infection Control, Becker’s Healthcare offers an online database of free and low-cost downloadable patient safety tools and resources, putting them all in one place for user convenience. Click here to continue >>