Reducing Infection in the Healthcare Setting
The Value of Education for Safeguarding Patients and Caregivers
Preventing the spread of infection in hospitals and other healthcare settings is a growing concern. According to the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, a non-profit educational campaign, infection accounts for at least 103,000 deaths every year in U.S. hospitals. However, the Committee also found that the majority of those infections are preventable, prompting healthcare facilities to mandate strict infection control methods in order to ensure the health and well-being of their patients and staff.
Prevention Measures in Action: What Studies Show
Research shows that training caregivers about the importance of infection control and implementing facility-wide prevention measures can greatly reduce the number of infections seen annually. In Texas, for example, the Audie Murphy VA Hospital significantly reduced its infection rate following the implementation of key infection control policies and procedures. Between September 2010 and February 2011, the rate of infection by multi-drug-resistant organisms, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), clostridium difficile (C. diff) and others dropped 82 percent.
Just one of many VA hospitals represented in a study published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Audie Murphy demonstrates clearly the effectiveness of a successful infection control program. The programs currently in place there require all hospital staff—from surgeons to gift shop employees—to undergo training on how they deal with patients, and the results are very positive.
“These are simple acts but they can have huge impacts when they're done all the time, every time,” said Gary A. Roselle of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and co-author of the study. Indeed, policies and procedures like those being used at Audie Murphy were credited with cutting the rate of hospital-acquired MRSA in VA hospitals nationwide by 62 percent in intensive care units and 45 percent elsewhere in the facilities between October 2007 and June 2010.
On the east coast, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) recently managed to cut down on infection rates at four of its member facilities through the implementation of a persistent action plan that included the use of antibacterial products such as hand sanitizer. Based on the results of a study conducted by VHHA Services, the four hospitals were able to lower their infection rates a collective 41.5 percent, reported 59 fewer infections, and saved $1.2 million in costs to the healthcare delivery system.
A Critical Need, a Proven Solution
These studies and others highlight the critical need for infection control measures in the healthcare setting as well as the need for effective staff education. By providing valuable training about infection transmission, standard precautions, and the legal requirements for monitoring infection prevention and control practices, hospitals and other healthcare facilities—including skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers—can take the first step toward keeping patients and healthcare workers safe and healthy.