Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, FAPIC

There is a desperate need to infuse SNFs with more resources, not only in terms of personal protective equipment, but also the critical infection prevention resources and staffing.

It’s when infection preventionists leave the hospital or go to get a coffee in the cafeteria, that behaviors can become lax. We opt to take breaks from masking, exhausted from it all.

While the rest of the hospital bustles with energy as healthcare workers fight COVID-19, emergency departments have been oddly quiet because of the drop in elective surgeries.

Those of us in healthcare and infection prevention must focus on sustainable efforts to combat COVID-19. How do we maintain readiness and response without burnout? There’s no solid answer to this, but a big piece really goes into the establishment of plans and education. 

In many cases, the relationship between IP and the supply chain department is passive and fluctuates with emergencies or new products. What if, though, we worked to have a more proactive relationship that involved weekly meetings regarding the level of supplies, like PPE?

IIn the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers discuss SARS-CoV-2 in two domestic cats.

Infection prevention sustainability isn’t easy and everyone is exhausted, but now is the time that practice makes permanent.

Small clusters of environmental transmission in gyms and other workout settings can tell us about potential risky environments in healthcare. Outpatient physical therapy for one.

For those working in healthcare, the relationship with the supply chain department was an increasingly important one. Between daily mask utilization and supply reporting to scrambling to find more supplies, those working in healthcare supply chains were working exceedingly hard to keep our heads above water. 

Look to our own practices in hospitals. Are meetings occurring with lots of people for a prolonged period of time without PPE? Breakroom clusters of staff to eat? Exposure is not limited to the patient-caregiver interaction.

Healthcare workers often have the foresight to know when patients are positive, while knowledge of cases in the community is less likely.

For many infection preventionists (IPs), hand hygiene in healthcare facilities is often subpar. National compliance rates tend to fall well under 50% and even with interventions, sustainable improvement is a unicorn IPs are always in search of.

As an infection preventionist, I found these to be helpful in establishing plans, training methods, and more.

Although all patients require vigilant infection prevention measures and the goal should always be zero infections, the stakes are sometimes higher in the NICU, as infections there have higher potential for death.

Exposure work-ups often involve tracing the movement of the patient and identifying staff who might have been exposed. But with COVID-19 is that feasible?

Too often infection prevention work feels thankless, but the truth is that we are the backbone in this situation and now is the time that people really see that.

Since healthcare's response to COVID-19  will likely not end soon, it is important to consider ways to help make the work processes easier and enhance communication.

As the threat from COVID-19 increases, so must the readiness of infection preventionists to respond. 

Sustainability of high hand hygiene rates is extremely challenging and continuously requires resources and substantial effort.

It is in the best interest of the patient that the system moves to either disposable components or scopes, as duodenoscopes have shown a propensity for disease transmission.

It's been given an official name, COVID-19, and will likely become known as SARS-CoV-2, when all is said and done. 

In this uncertain time of constantly changing news and updates that often stress response efforts, it is important to focus on opportunities for prevention and ensuring staff have the right information.

Although the odds of another patient with EVD walking into your emergency department are slim, wouldn’t you rather be prepared?

Infection preventionists keeping an eye on coronavirus.