Want to build a strong IPC program? You need to get creative.
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Apr 10, 2024
It’s truly remarkable to reflect on the four years that have passed since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Throughout this time, profound lessons have been learned about infection prevention and...
CMS adds enhanced barrier precautions to infection control guidance
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 22, 2024
Nursing homes must begin to use enhanced barrier precautions to prevent broader transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms and to help protect patients with chronic wounds and indwelling devices, the...
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...
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...
Infection control without adding staff — it’s not just a fluke
By
Mary Cole
Jul 26, 2023
In a recent letter to leaders in Congress, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) highlighted the “astonishing lack of attention to infection prevention and control...
Feds should require full-time infection control specialists at nursing homes, association says
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jun 20, 2023
The federal government should require a full-time infection preventionist in every nursing home, say leaders of a large ICP association.
Providers urged to remember COVID-19 tactics as dangerous flu season looms
By
Joe Bush
Oct 06, 2022
Influenza, once the respiratory scourge that nursing home residents and professionals feared the most each year before COVID-19 hit, should be back on providers’ radar in a big way, experts warn.
Sick staff at work costs more than expected: study
By
John Hall
Aug 25, 2022
A new study reveals how a single sick caregiver can easily infect residents and co-workers in a long-term care setting and drive up treatment costs by thousands of dollars.
Part-time option means more juggling for infection control staff
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jul 04, 2022
While nursing homes have had six years to prepare for new infection preventionist guidance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revealed last week they will not necessarily need to appoint someone...
Nearly all high-touch surfaces in LTC are contaminated, study finds
By
Amy Novotney
Feb 18, 2022
More than 90% of “high-touch” surfaces in long-term care facilities, including handrails and equipment controls, are contaminated with fecal matter and other potential sources of infectious...