May 25, 2010
In This Issue:
Novel VRE Strain
Hand Hygiene Compliance
NAC ICP Course
Plan for Success
HANDIC Education Day Announcement
Mark Your Calendar
May 29 - June 3
CHICA-Canada 2010 National Education Conference
Golden Opportunities - Soaring to New Heights!
Vancouver, BC
More Information...
June 17th
CHICA-HANDIC Annual Education Day
Infection Control Across the Lifespan
Hamilton, ON
More Information...
WEBBER TELECLASSES
May 31st
Challenges in Reprocessing in Community Settings
(A free live broadcast from the CHICA-Canada Conference)
June 2nd
Going Green While Keeping Clean: Collaborations Between Environmental and Infection Control Best Practices
(A free live broadcast from the CHICA-Canada Conference)
June 9th
From Obscurity to "Superbug": The Rise of C. diff Infection
June 10th
Epidemiology of Healthcare Associated Infections in Limited Resource Regions
June 17th
Norovirus Outbreaks: Issues and Interventions
June 22nd
Patient Hand Hygiene Perceptions & Behaviour
June 24th
Infection as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease
For more information or to register for a WEBBER TELECLASS contact us.
Questions?
Comments!
Suggestions.
We'd love to hear from you.
E-mail: askcsicn@hhsc.ca
Phone: 905 627-3541
Web: www.ricn.on.ca |
Novel VRE Strain
A local hospital has recently uncovered the presence of a novel strain of VRE in their facility. In an abstract on the subject, the author suggests that it seems this "novel strain has become vancomycin dependent for growth due to the overuse of vancomycin as an antimicrobial therapy choice." To read more about this, click here.
Hand Hygiene Compliance 
A recent study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology found that overall rates of compliance with hand hygiene guidelines ranged from 4%-100% (median 40%). Non-compliance is most often associated with situations where there are high activity levels (i.e. ICU) and/or physician involvement. Higher compliance rates were associated with the performance of dirty tasks, the introduction of ABHR, performance feedback, and accessibility of necessary materials.
(Erasmus, V, et al. Systemic review of studies on compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care. ICHE, Vol. 31, No. 3; March 2010)
Non-Acute Care ICP Training Course
Are you interested in taking the RICN Non-Acute Care Infection Control Professional (NAC-ICP) Training Program? The NAC-ICP Training Course was designed in 2007 to meet the learning needs of persons practicing infection prevention and control in non-acute care settings (LTC, public health, community, etc.). The program is intended for the professional who is new in their role and/or has no other formal infection prevention and control training. The course consists of 12 modules delivered over a 12 month period with over 80 hours of course work. The content is delivered by recognized IPAC experts and is endorsed by CHICA-Canada. For more information, click here.
Plan for Success
It's all too easy to end a busy day wondering if you actually accomplished anything. Finish the day feeling good about all that you accomplished by following these simple suggestions: - Take time to plan - spend 10-15 minutes each day to plan your goals for the day (first thing in the morning or at the very end of the day are excellent times for this).
- Check your goals - before you add activities to you daily "to do" list, review your goals - both short and long term - and determine whether the activities you are planning will move you closer or distract you from your goals.
- Prioritize - determine your most important goal and then set your No. 1 task for the day. Be sure to list and prioritize all the tasks you want to complete and assign realistic time lines.
- Monitor - as you complete your goals for the day cross them off of your "to do" list. As you do this, take a few minutes to re-prioritize if necessary. You should begin to feel a sense of accomplishment with each item that you complete and cross off your "to do" list.
(Adapted from "Plan each day for success," Communications Briefings, March 2010, p. 6)
CHICA-HANDIC Education Day
Hamilton and Neighbouring District Infection Control (HANDIC) has organized their Annual Infection Control Education Day. This year's theme is "The Year of the Family" which will include a variety of infection control challenges that impact us across the lifespan. Mark your calendars for Thursday June 17, 2010. Registration is quickly filling up, so register early! Click here for more information.
Announcement 
Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will be decreasing the frequency of the e-focus newsletter. In order to continue to provide you with a high-quality newsletter, we will be releasing e-focus once a month starting in June. We regret any inconvenience this may cause. |
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