According to the Centers for Disease Control, Hospital acquired infections (HAIs), including the infections caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are costing hospitals more than $30 billion per year. New federal health care rules are also reducing reimbursements to hospitals for HAI treatment. Studies show that nasal carriage plays a major role in HAI and […]

by Phenelle Segal Despite significant advances in the reduction of healthcare-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the process for prevention of transmission remains tedious, time consuming, demanding of healthcare personnel, costly and, oftentimes, unsuccessful. The traditional approach to prevention of transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) has included screening for colonization (e.g., MRSA screening of […]

Press Release from APIC – 1/20/2016Only 17.4 percent of ambulatory care nurses reported compliance in all nine standard precautions for infection prevention, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).Researchers from Northwell Health (formerly North Shore […]

Collecting and reporting hospital infection data to federal health agencies takes more than 5 hours each day, at the expense of time needed to ensure that frontline healthcare personnel are adhering to basic infection prevention practices such as hand hygiene, according to a recent case study, to be presented on Saturday, June 27 at the […]

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) supports all of the nation’s healthcare providers across the spectrum of healthcare stepping up coordinated efforts to curb improper use of antibiotics by practicing antibiotic stewardship.  A new Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spotlights the issue of healthcare […]

The White House Conference on Aging announced new changes that would make major changes to improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in the more than 15,000 long-term care facilities or nursing homes that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. If finalized, unnecessary hospital readmissions and infections would be reduced, […]

The study was published as a brief report in the American Journal of Infection Control. Fewer than 1 in 6 healthcare workers (HCW) followed all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for the removal of personal protective equipment (PPE) after patient care, according to a brief report published in the July issue of […]

Based on data taken from the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey of 1,501 U.S. hospitals and analyzed by Castlight Health. Simple handwashing is the best known way to prevent hospital infections, but according to a report released today by nonprofit hospital watchdog The Leapfrog Group, nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of hospitals surveyed have not implemented all […]

From the Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control The impact of surgical site infections (SSIs) following prosthesis procedures is devastating, often leading to higher mortality, prolonged hospitalizations, frequent readmissions, and increased costs and overall healthcare burden. According to the United States (US) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), SSI rates following total knee or hip arthroplasty procedures […]

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2015 – from SHEA online Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Contact: Kate Enos / kenos@gymr.com / 202-745-5071 Author contact: Mary-Claire Roghmann / mroghman@epi.umaryland.edu High Rates of MRSA Transmission Found Between Nursing Home Residents and Healthcare Workers Study finds transmission rates high in daily activities previously considered low-risk NEW YORK (May […]