Study highlights how VRE spreads — and how nursing homes can stop it
By
Kristen Fischer
Nov 15, 2023
Antibiotic exposure and dirty hands were factors linked to nursing home contamination with the multidrug-resistant bacteria vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, or VRE, a new study finds.
Study: Leadership support yields better job satisfaction for infection prevention workers
By
Kristen Fischer
Sep 15, 2023
Leadership support may be just what healthcare workers — and particularly infection preventionists — at long-term care communities need to avoid burnout.
More antibiotics didn’t prevent joint replacement infections, trial reveals
By
Kristen Fischer
Oct 19, 2023
Doctors typically give the antibiotic cefazolin to people who have knee and hip replacements in order to prevent infection. Some physicians have debated if adding another antibiotic — vancomycin — ...
Decrease costs and boost morale by fostering a culture that prioritizes infection prevention and control
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Aug 07, 2023
Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, infection prevention and control (IPC) in long-term care facilities was usually relegated to the sidelines. If it was focused on at all, IPC often fell squarely on...
Study: C. difficile transmission may hinge on individuals, not infection control tools
By
Kristen Fischer
Sep 19, 2023
A person’s biology may play more of a role in how Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, spreads more so than healthcare facility preventive measures, a new study finds. This means that transmission of...
CMS still dropping the ball on infection prevention in nursing homes: GAO
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jul 12, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has yet to create certain infection prevention standards for nursing homes, a federal watchdog complained Tuesday in a new report.
How to do it … A stronger infection control approach
By
John Hall
Jan 31, 2024
In the wake of the biggest public health emergency in over a century, any edge these critical professionals can get is crucial for creating a stronger infection prevention program.
Let’s talk about hand hygiene
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Sep 27, 2022
Infection prevention begins with fundamentals, and there is nothing more fundamental than hand hygiene. However, there is a lot of confusion in the industry regarding the placement of alcohol-based hand...
Three years in, pandemic jabs keep coming
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Mar 10, 2023
Ahead of Saturday’s third anniversary of the pandemic’s official declaration, one infection preventionist who spent much of COVID’s first year on frontlines in multiple states reflected on the challenges...
Easy to implement infection prevention and control strategies during the holidays in LTC facilities
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Dec 12, 2023
The Department of Health and Human Services released a report in January of this year showing that more than 1,000 long-term care facilities in the United States had COVID-19 infection rates of 75% or...