Sneak Peek at APIC 2013: Companies Announce Education, Networking Opportunities

Companies are announcing their educational offerings as well as opportunities to netwrok and see new products and services at the 40th annual meeting of the Association for the Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), to be held June 8-10, 2013 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. We invite you to check back often, as new announcements will be added to this news item.

PDI

PDI will be launching a number of new initiatives at the APIC annual conference. In addition to having a first-hand preview to new products, educational resources and tools, visitors to the PDI booth will have an opportunity to participate in the Hero For Zero commemorative campaign.

As a partner to infection preventionists, PDI recognizes the unwavering effort of these individuals to fight preventable infections every day. This year, PDI will show its appreciation at the APIC conference with the "Hero for Zero" movement. The campaign, honoring IPs and their commitment to saving lives, will give visitors to PDI booth the opportunity to be featured in a commemorative photo, celebrating their pledge to Be the Difference every day. Visitors will pose individually or with their peers to be broadcasted across the PDI booth video screens, showcasing these heroes to all conference attendees. 

PDI will continue to honor its guests with the Sixth Annual New York Cheesecake Extravaganza Saturday evening at the Harbor Beach Marriott. The customer appreciation event is one of the most popular at APIC, with more than 1,000 attending in 2012.  Guests will indulge in a variety of decadent cheesecakes as well as enjoy complimentary beverages, including wine and cordials. The Ocean Ballroom at the Marriot provides the perfect atmosphere with a seaside setting and exquisite panoramic views, where back by popular demand, illusionist Ryan Oakes will mystify guests with his performance. 

PDI's commitment to providing ongoing training and education for its infection prevention partners continues with the launch of the new PDI website, www.PDIBeTheDifference.com. The website features not only products, but also educational resources and tools catered to different practice areas including acute care, long term care, dental care and alternate care.  This latest development advances the company's mission to help infection preventionists and other healthcare professionals Be The Difference in the fight to help save lives by providing custom solutions based on the specific needs of a facility.

PDI will also host an educational symposium at the convention center, titled "Seize the Day: Putting Healthcare Reform at the Forefront of Your Infection Prevention Initiatives." Mark Dixon , FACHE, MHA and Denise Graham, BS, will discuss the "Triple Aim" of healthcare reform and how to apply this knowledge to increase collaboration between Infection Prevention, Quality and C-Suite colleagues.

PDI will be introducing a number of new environmental hygiene solutions designed to help address areas of the facility that are often overlooked.
- PDI® Sani-Cloth® AF3 Portable Pak. Sani-Cloth® AF3 Germicidal Disposable Wipe, an alcohol and fragrance free quaternary-based disinfectant, is now available in the new Portable Pak, an innovation in packaging designed to keep disinfection of mobile equipment top-of-mind and make disinfection on-the-go easier than ever.
- PDI® Sani-Cloth® Bleach Extra Large (XL) Canister. Sani-Cloth® Bleach Germicidal Disposable Wipe is now available in a new extra-large canister. The new format features a 7.5 x 15-inch wipe which is unfolded, ready to use and packaged in a 65-count container, suited for use in Infection Prevention and Environmental Services. These wipes are ideal for disinfecting high-risk areas endemic with Clostridium difficile spores and Norovirus. 

The company is also introducing several updates to its compliance accessories designed to reinforce proper product utilization.
- PDI® Sani-Cloth® 3-in-1 Universal Sani-Bracket. Strategically placing the Sani-Bracket throughout all areas of the facility helps make Sani-Cloth® Germicidal Disposable Wipes easily accessible, promoting usage and reducing the risk of infection transmission. The company's unique bracket system now features informative stickers denoting product name and contact time in addition to the existing "Not for Use on Skin" precaution. This gives facilities the flexibility to customize brackets with the appropriate information, helping to aid in compliance.
- Sani-Tag Equipment ID System. The Sani-Tag Equipment ID System includes color-coded stickers that can be adhered to equipment requiring a specific product for disinfection, reducing the risk of staff confusion and cost associated with damaging equipment.  PDI has updated the Sani-Tag Equipment ID system to now include a prominent contact time button, another key aspect of surface disinfection that often needs reinforcement.

NMI Health

NMI Health Inc. announces the U.S. launch of its SilverCare Plus line of antimicrobial performance soft surface products at the APIC annual conference. NMI will be exhibit its SilverCare Plus suite of performance fabrics, including: scrub and lab coat apparel, patient gowns, linens, blankets and cubicle curtains. Collectively, these products account for over 90 percent of soft surfaces found in the patient environment.

NMI partnered with Noble Biomaterials, conducting more than two years of product development and testing to manufacture the SilverCare Plus line, one of the first and most extensive lines of antimicrobial soft surface hospital products used in today's fight against HAIs.

"Incorporating Noble's X-Static® antimicrobial silver thread technology into our fabric manufacturing process our suite of performance health care fabrics not only supports a major part of our overall long term growth strategy but also enables us to make a positive contribution towards safer patient care and a safer work environment," says Eddie Suydam , CEO of NMI.
 

TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc.

TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc., a global bacteria decontamination and infectious disease control company, will showcase its SteraMist System at APIC. SteraMist/BIT (Binary Ionization Technology) is an innovative, patented no-touch technology which utilizes an activated aerosolized hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to effectively address bio-decontamination situations, on all microorganisms.

On display will be TOMIs SteraMist handheld portable room decontamination unit, a portable hydrogen peroxide handheld device for use by hospitals EVS staff to achieve superior hospital surface decontamination within 10 minutes in areas of where HAIs are a concern.

TOMIs patented technology of activating a proprietary solution (including less than 8 percent hydrogen peroxide) is referred to as Activated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP). TOMIs SteraMist/BIT has been proven effective against superbugs such as MRSA and C. difficile, and all the remaining ESKAPE bacteria.

Dr. Halden Shane, TOMIs CEO, notes, TOMI, Inc. will be demonstrating its SteraMist Technology at booth #1024. Healthcare professionals will be able to see firsthand how easy SteraMist is to use.

Network Services Company  

Network Services Company will showcase expertise in cleaning for health at booth #724. Cleaner spaces and fewer infections lead to improved health, increased satisfaction, and a strong facility reputation. Getting there can be complicated.  Network representatives will be on hand during the conference's exhibit hall hours to help attendees learn about Healthy Measures®, the company's collaborative program designed to combat the spread of infection through proper surface disinfection and hand hygiene.

As Natalie DePace, Network's vice president of business development in Healthcare explains, "We've designed Healthy Measures to be an industry-leading solution that supports hospitals and long term care facilities in their goal to reduce infection rates, thereby safeguarding patients and improving overall satisfaction." The program brings together key facility staff from infection prevention and environmental services to examine the critical details of cleaning and disinfection as well as worker performance throughout the facility. A review of the current processes helps identify potential areas for improvement and establishes a disciplined means by which to measure continuous improvement. The proprietary program further defines NETWORK as a true solutions provider helping achieve positive outcomes in an increasingly complex industry.

Hyginex

Hyginex announces that it will be an exhibitor at the APIC annual conference, and invites attendees to booth #1828 to learn about its patented wristband technology that provides real-time data on individual employee's hand hygiene habits. Currently implemented in leading hospitals in Israel, Hyginex is a proven hand hygiene monitoring solution that is currently expanding into major hospitals in the U.S.

The Hyginex solution is an effective way to monitor hand hygiene compliance with minimal intrusion and maximum results. The streamlined system collects data through wristbands worn by healthcare workers, and it eliminates false positives by tracking all hospital staff members' hand hygiene events on an individual basis. Hyginex registers more complete and accurate information than unreliable manual observations, and it provides data on wash quality and duration that other RFID based solutions do not.

DebMed
 
DebMed, creator of an electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system based on the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, recently completed a study in conjunction with Columbia University School of Nursing and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass. The study concluded that the implementation of the DebMed Group Monitoring System (GMS) at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a 140-bed non-profit acute-care community hospital, significantly increased its hand hygiene compliance rates in all inpatient units and the emergency department combined. DebMed will demonstrate its group monitoring system at APIC.

"The impressive outcomes from Cooley Dickinson Hospital reinforce DebMed's assertion that electronic monitoring is the best way to monitor hand hygiene compliance, and significantly better than direct observation, which is an antiquated method that produces unreliable data," says Heather McLarney, vice president of DebMed. "We are confident that the DebMed GMS will be the impetus for hospitals to lead the change and implement real-time electronic hand hygiene monitoring, and in doing so, improve patient safety."

Cooley Dickinson Hospital has been using the DebMed GMS system-wide for over a year, and in conjunction has mandated adherence to the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene guidelines.  Moving from a hand hygiene guideline where staff cleans hands only before and after patient carewhich merely accounts for half of all hand hygiene opportunities--to the WHO Five Moments has further helped Cooley Dickinson increase patient safety through this higher clinical standard of care.

A separate study conducted at Duke University Medical Center and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology showed that even minimal improvements in hand hygiene compliance lead to substantial monetary savings for hospitals. This study stated that even a 1 percent increase in hand hygiene compliance would result in annual savings of $39,650 to a 200-bed hospital. For Cooley Dickinson and other facilities, that can add up to significant savings. The results of the study done at Cooley Dickinson Hospital will be featured in a poster presentation on Sunday, June 9 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET.

In addition to sharing this new research during APIC, DebMed will also unveil its latest product innovation, the world's first point-of-care monitored dispenser. Because it easily mounts to beds, carts and bedside tables, the dispenser enables efficient clinical workflow, saving staff valuable time while enabling them to easily adhere to proper hand hygiene further expanding the capabilities of the DebMed GMS electronic monitoring system.

Both the World Health Organization's Five Moments for Hand Hygiene standard and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare Lean Six Sigma Hand Hygiene project recognize that it is essential for hand sanitizer to be immediately accessible without healthcare workers having to leave the patient environment, enabling staff to clean their hands quickly and easily at the critical point of patient care. DebMed's monitored dispenser will track and record hand hygiene moments at the point-of-care, which had not been possible until now.

"Until now, electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems have not been able to track or give staff 'credit' for cleaning their hands at the point-of-care," says McLarney. "DebMed continues to be the innovative leader in the hand hygiene market with the introduction of the world's first point-of-care dispenser to monitor hand hygiene compliance, enhancing the DebMed GMS even further to offer the most robust electronic hand hygiene system on the market."

Product demonstrations will allow attendees at APIC to directly experience the reporting features of the DebMed® GMS (Group Monitoring System), the world's first automated real-time group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates based on the WHO Five Moments.

Proventix Systems, Inc.
 
Proventix Systems, Inc. will feature its nGage quality monitoring system at APIC. Proventix will also host a reception at "The Patio" located in The Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel on Saturday, June 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. APIC attendees are invited to join Proventix for a casual and fun gathering including food and drinks, conversation with Proventix users and company representatives, and demonstrations of Proventix's nGage system.

Proventix client hospitals will exhibit eight abstract poster presentations and one oral abstract presentation at the APIC conference. APIC attendees are encouraged to visit each of these presentations to see how hospitals are achieving improved quality of care and hand hygiene compliance through a combination of information technology, leadership, and behavior modification.

"Proventix congratulates our partners in excellence for their recognition as leaders in quality improvement," says Harvey Nix, Proventix chief executive officer. "Hand hygiene is a keystone behavior that can have rippling effects on many other quality events in a hospital. These nine abstract presentations provide real examples of the effects that hand hygiene compliance improvements can have on the quality of care a hospital delivers. These hospitals have experienced reductions in healthcare associated infections (HAIs), reductions in length of stay, and increases in total direct cost savings."

Proventix created the nGage system, an RFID technology solution that leverages active and passive RFID technology to give hospitals objective performance ratings based on their delivery of keystone behaviors to lead to optimal patient outcomes. Beginning with hand hygiene and then expanding services to include hourly rounding, quality monitoring, and workflow improvement, Proventix provides the analytics and action plans needed for hospitals to maximize their resources and minimize never events and inefficient processes. The nGage system is currently installed in hospitals across the United States and, with over 28 million hand hygiene events captured, Proventix continues to gather significant amounts of data for studies to support the nGage system. To register for the Proventix APIC reception, call (205) 383-1156.

Georgia-Pacific Professional

Healthcare professionals attending the APIC 40th conference can get a hands-on experience of Georgia-Pacific Professionals new SafeHaven Automated Hygiene Monitoring System when they visit booth #500. Designed to help improve hand hygiene participation inside healthcare facilities, the SafeHaven system monitors and records hand hygiene compliance of healthcare workers. Georgia-Pacific Professionals booth experience will model a patient room visit to highlight the ease and effectiveness of the new system. 

The SafeHaven system incorporates wireless monitoring technology into Georgia-Pacific Professionals automated touchless dispensers to make it easier for healthcare professionals to practice and promote good hand hygiene and help create healthier environments in their facilities. The SafeHaven system uses proven real-time locating system (RTLS) technology provided by Versus Technology, a company with 25 years experience in healthcare technology solutions.

To experience the SafeHaven system, show attendees  can personally  trial the automated solution by wearing an  RTLS badge that wirelessly communicates with dispensers. As attendees enter the booths model patient room, the SafeHaven system will monitor and record their hand hygiene compliance, based on whether they use the rooms automated dispensers. Real-time alerts and reporting will be demonstrated to provide immediate feedback and historical trending of compliance rates.

Our research shows that, among healthcare professionals, there is a perceived gap between the importance of hand hygiene compliance and hand hygiene implementation at healthcare facilities, says Andy Webb, senior healthcare marketing leader. The development of the SafeHaven system gives these facilities a way to measure actual compliance and assess the need for education on effective hand hygiene practices.

Georgia-Pacific Professional will participate in the conferences poster presentation as Alison Lukacsko, vice president of hand care and hygiene, presents the results of a company study of healthcare professionals. The study examines the gaps in perception with hand hygiene programs and implementation. In addition to the SafeHaven system, Georgia-Pacific Professional will be featuring its full line of products for healthcare facilities at its booth.

Alere Analytics

Alere Analytics, an Alere subsidiary specializing in analytics and clinical decision support (CDS) technology, announces the launch of its Clinical Surveillance product for hospitals, which is an automated technology solution designed to manage antimicrobial stewardship, infection control and medication management. Alere will demonstrate this new solution at the APIC annual meeting, as well as showcase its antimicrobial stewardship initiative Test Target Treat at booth #206.  Test Target Treat demonstrates the importance of using rapid diagnostics to make more targeted treatment decisions and reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Aleres new Clinical Surveillance Solution is currently being deployed at a large over 500- bed hospital in the greater New York area, which further strengthens Aleres rapid diagnostics and real-time decision support footprint in over 2,000 hospitals. The Clinical Surveillance Solution provides a dashboard view of all patients currently being treated in order to provide clinicians with real-time information that can reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections. The platforms single sign-on provides access and input data without requiring providers to sign on to another system, and can be easily integrated into existing hospital systems with no disruption to workflow. In addition, the flexible and evidence-driven rules editor help infection control personnel to prevent HAIs, identify those at risk of new infections, take appropriate action in real-time, and prevent adverse events and readmissions.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern in the healthcare industry and effectively managing clinical surveillance in any hospital or ICU is vital to ensuring patient safety and maintaining the highest quality of care, says Dr. Fauzia Khan, FCAP, chief medical officer of Alere Analytics. Our new clinical surveillance solution automates infection control, medication management and health reporting to address the evolving needs of hospitals and health systems that are looking to improve health outcomes, boost patient satisfaction and satisfy regulatory reporting requirements to maximize their incentive payments.

Alere Analytics integrated platform of real-time analytics and population management tools evaluates important patient information including anticoagulation and glycemic monitoring, IV to PO conversion, medication safety surveillance, and in turn, ensures patient safety while reducing costs such as treatments associated with inappropriate medication. It is designed to provide hospitals of any bed size with the ability to seamlessly capture and report on quality, performance and accountability measures from electronic health records (EHRs).  The Clinical Surveillance Solution also provides electronic reporting capabilities to public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.