Wiping away MDROs: Enhanced barrier precautions and hand hygiene
By
Amanda Thornton, RN, MSN
May 22, 2024
A seismic demographic shift is afoot, with older adults expected to outnumber children by the year 2034 for the first time in U.S. history. This will result in higher demand for long-term care facilities,...
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...
The punitive fist versus the hand of support
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
May 03, 2023
In the late 2010s, the long-term care industry began to take action that would reflect the growing importance of incorporating robust infection prevention practices. Facilities were required to develop...
A day in the life of an infection preventionist
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Jan 30, 2023
When I write or speak about our long-term care industry, I often do just that – refer to “the industry.” Whether it be challenges “the industry” faces, solutions “the industry” needs, or...
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...
MDROs setting up residence: The role of the contaminated environment in long-term care
By
Debra A. Hagberg
Aug 18, 2022
America’s age 65 and older population is expected to nearly double in size in the coming decades, from 49 million in 2016 to 95 million in 2060. With this aging of the population comes the reality of...
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...
Free LTC infection prevention tool from Yale aims to help nursing home staff save time
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 09, 2021
A one-stop set of infection prevention resources is meant to make work a bit easier for direct care providers, administrators, managers and support staff, say the Yale School of Nursing and the New York...