Weekly Rounds: Device Reprocessing Policies, Long-COVID-19 Alarm, and LTC IPs.
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending July 1.
Here are 5 highlights from ICT®’s wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders, to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.
Device Reprocessing Policies Must Be a Living Document
If the policies are not consistently updated, they are “just a piece of paper shoved in a logbook that is not going to effectively improve reprocessing…of ultrasound probes,” said Lisa Waldowski, DNP, RN, CIC.
Long COVID-19 and New Variants: Sounding a Continuing Alarm
It is easy to become complacent, but the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not over, and long COVID-19 and the new variants are causing rising concern.
LTC Infection Preventionists’ Responsibilities Have Doubled Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
In all areas, infection preventionists took on more responsibilities and expanded the ones they already had, including staff education and employee health.
Infection Preventionists and EMS Personnel: Nurturing a Relationship
They should be partners making each other and their patients safe through communication, education, and action plans.
Surgical Urology Is an Untapped Area for Infection Preventionists
Despite the initial reluctance for a urology team to work with infection preventionists, the collaboration is beneficial for both specialties.
How Contaminated Is Your Stretcher? The Hidden Risks on Hospital Wheels
July 3rd 2025Despite routine disinfection, hospital surfaces, such as stretchers, remain reservoirs for harmful microbes, according to several recent studies. From high-touch areas to damaged mattresses and the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings, researchers continue to uncover persistent risks in environmental hygiene, highlighting the critical need for innovative, continuous disinfection strategies in health care settings.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.
