pH1N1 Update
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has recently updated its guidance documents for the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (pH1N1). Three new guidance documents are available:
Healthcare providers are encouraged to review this information and adapt their activities accordingly.
pH1N1 Vaccination
Late last week the provincial government released the pH1N1 vaccine to local public health units for distribution. Check your local public health unit website for their distribution strategy and a list of clinic locations and times.
Congratulations to our Latest CIC Achiever!
 Andrea Iacurti recently wrote and passed her CIC exam. Andrea is a member of the St. Joseph's Healthcare Infection Control team. We are very proud of you Andrea. Congratulations!
Ready...set...AUDIT!
CHICA-Canada is pleased to announce the launch of 10 Infection Prevention and Control audit tools as part of National Infection Control Week. These tools are the first of a series that will be released over the next few months. We hope that these audit tools will support you to measure your success at moving best evidence into best practices in your organizations.
Whether you are new to auditing or a seasoned pro, the guiding documents that come with the tools will provide you with a step by step approach to completing audits. We encourage you to use the tools and provide feed-back using the evaluation form included with the audits so we can continue to improve them. The tools include:
1. Additional Precautions 
2. Client/Patient/Residents Service Unit
3. Hand Hygiene Practice
4. Hand Hygiene Readiness
5. Housekeeping Supply Room
6. Management of Enteric Outbreaks
7. Management of Respiratory Outbreaks
8. Unit Kitchens
9. Use of Personal Protective Equipment
10. Surgical Scrub The tools will be located on the member section of the website: http://www.chica.org/AuditToolkit/toolkithome.html
Re-emergence of a vaccine-preventable disease?
Thanks to a highly effective vaccine that has been around for several decades, many of us have never had to deal with outbreaks of measles, mumps or rubella or care for the victims of these diseases. However, due to recent declines in vaccination rates, there is a rise in the incidence of measles. While measles often presents with obvious symptoms, rubella typically causes subclinical or inapparent illness; however, it’s effects on an unborn child can be devastating. Recently, several cases of rubella have been identified in adults with no clear exposure to the disease. These cases ought to serve as a reminder that unless we remain vigilant in our fight against preventable diseases, they can and will return.
(J Clin Virol. 2009 Sep; 46(1):98-100)
Infection Control Week
Ontario's Regional Infection Control Networks created several new resources for use during Infection Control Week (October 19-23). We have had tremendous response from our partners in healthcare across the province. Here is what one of our local partners had to say:
Just wanted to let you know we had a lunch and learn for Infection Control Week. We used the hand hygiene and routine practices games from the RICN website that were a huge sucess...the games reinforced learning, allowed us to evaluate the content of our education...and were a great means of creating an interactive learning session. Everyone attending gave a good review and asked for more games in future sessions...thanks for all the good work at the RICN. (Mary Knapman, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital)
If you weren't able to incorporate the resources into your Infection Control Week activities, that's okay. They are still available on our website, and you are free to use them any time you'd like.
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