You can expect renewed interest in your water management program. This summer, CMS sent out a new memo updating its expectations on Legionella infections. The memo, QSO 17-30-Hospitals/CAHs/NHs, was published July 6. It supersedes the former S&C 17-30-Hospitals/CAHs/NHs, issued in...
The benefits of mobility among hospitalized patients are well-known: decreased pressure ulcers, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and functional decline, to name a few.
“Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, falls in the hospital, falls that cause injury, DVTs, and pulmonary emboli are also caused...
In patient safety, when hospital accreditors take an interest in something, you should as well. That is why you should be paying extra attention to your dialysis procedures. Each year, 468,000 patients receive dialysis as treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and surveyors have been...
Most employers are required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and state law to guard against and respond to claims that an employee was sexually harassed by a coworker or manager. However, what employers may not know is they can also be liable for sexual harassment of an employee by non-...
This June, FDA issued an alert reminding healthcare professionals and facility staff of “factors that increase the risk of surgical fires on or near a patient.” The agency also recommended practices to reduce the occurrence of surgical fires, including “the safe use of medical devices and...
If staff at your healthcare organization have not yet encountered a human trafficking victim, it is “very likely they will,” says Elizabeth Even, MSN, RN, CEN, associate director of Clinical Standards Interpretation in the Division of Healthcare Improvement at The Joint...
As promised, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has shut down its operation of the National Guidelines Clearinghouse (NGC). But on July 17, a day after the site went dark, ECRI Institute announced it will take over sponsorship of the clearinghouse sometime this fall.
With a new flu season right around the corner, now is the time for hospitals and other healthcare facilities to consider implementing a mandatory vaccination program for seasonal influenza. Some employees may initially object, but most experts agree that flu shots are a necessity for healthcare...
Infection preventionist Jessica Strauch shares an amusing anecdote to show how hand hygiene monitoring technology has improved the culture at Lutheran Medical Center in Colorado.
Picture one of Lutheran’s nurses standing in front of her kitchen sink at home. Dinner is hot...
This simple question has fueled a bitter fight ever since The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) officially recommended that bouffant hats be worn in the OR by all surgical team members. Since then, there’s been a back-...
