--- title: I survived Hurricane Andrea! description: I survived Hurricane Andrea! --- # [I survived Hurricane Andrea!](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2013/06/i-survived-hurricane-andrea.html) Written by [Nicole Kenny](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/author/nicole-kenny) | Jun 14, 2013 2:43:00 PM T he [40th Annual APIC](http://ac2013.site.apic.org/education/online-education/) (Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology) Conference was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this past weekend.   One of the privileges of my job is the ability to attend Infection Prevention conferences around the globe, the downside of course being the travel - which to some may seem glamorous and fun, but trust me, being on a plane landing as one of the cells of [Hurricane Andrea](http://www.bing.com/news/search?q=hurricane+andrea&qpvt=hurricane+andrea&FORM=EWRE) is hitting the coast of Florida is far from fun.  On second thought, I take that back, I LOVE roller coasters and actually happen to love being on a plane when we hit turbulence.  The torrential rain I could do without! If you have never been APIC is an amazing conference that offers a wide scope of educational tracks.  I think even a non-Infection Preventionist could find a session they would be interested in!  This year, the opening ceremonies kicked off with a celebration of APIC's 40th anniversary by looking back through the years to see how Infection Prevention has evolved.  Founded in 1972 (yet another thing younger than me..) by a group of pioneering Infection Preventionists (IP), the review of how infection control evolved through the '70's, '80's, '90's and '00's was insightful and entertaining.  In the 1970's, infection control was controversial to the point that one IP was told "the only surveillance you're going to do in the future is in the checkout lane at a grocery store".  Today, every healthcare facility has a surveillance program in place with many countries around the world having laws for mandatory reporting for hospital associated infections. The 1980's saw the birth of what we now know as [Routine or Standard Precautions](http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2002/08/standard-precautions.aspx).  Originally introduced as Body Substance Isolation or BSI.  Nurses did not wear gloves because of the psychosocial belief taught during nursing school that gloves would make patients uncomfortable.  BSI became the risk assessment tool used to help limit exposure to body substances and limit the risk of contracting an infectious disease through contact with body substances. As society continued to develop and use "state of the art" devices (think portable cell phones), so too did healthcare facilities. With technological advancements, new ways of transmitting diseases were brought to light.  The 1990's ushered in the era of device-associated outbreaks.  One of the first published studies in a medical journal included the review of an outbreak caused by a medical device and the understanding that investigations need to also include where corners are being cut whether it be by the device manufacture, the medical personnel reprocessing the devices or the use of single-use devices. With the arrival of the millennium and of course [SARS](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004460/), infection prevention in the 2000's finally saw national awareness that HAI's were preventable and UNACCEPTABLE.  We are now in an era where we are not just looking at evidence-based guidelines to improve patient outcomes and prevent disease transmission, but focusing on implementation science to ensure that the "evidence" can be put into practice by healthcare workers for every patient.   IPs are also now understanding that their role is not only about stopping HAIs, but helping the C-suite to understand that investing in infection prevention programs, can in fact save money for a facility. In the end, I was among 4000 delegates from around the world and 295 vendors attending APIC  not just to learn, but to share our experiences to further infection prevention.  *Bugging Off!* * * * * Nicole [View full post](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2013/06/i-survived-hurricane-andrea.html) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nicole Kenny" }, "dateModified" : "2019-03-04T15:23:14.422Z", "datePublished" : "2013-06-14T14:43:00Z", "headline" : "I survived Hurricane Andrea!", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2013/06/i-survived-hurricane-andrea.html", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "Virox-Animal-Health-Resources" } } ```