Spring
is a season many of us look forward to - longer and warmer days, the snow is
gone, the birds are back and flowers and trees are budding and blooming! Allergy sufferers and asthmatics may rue Springs' arrival
particularly since this year seems to be incredibly mean to some of us. But if you're an Infection Preventionist you
are probably downright giddy for Spring signifies the arrival of two of the
biggest infection prevention and control conferences in North America: IPAC-Canada
and APIC. If you're Canadian, you are
probably counting down the hours until you fly off to Halifax to enjoy 5 days
of work free, kid free, spouse free educational fun! If you're like me, you're also probably
trying to figure out how to get that last pair of shoes to fit in your
suitcase!
is a season many of us look forward to - longer and warmer days, the snow is
gone, the birds are back and flowers and trees are budding and blooming! Allergy sufferers and asthmatics may rue Springs' arrival
particularly since this year seems to be incredibly mean to some of us. But if you're an Infection Preventionist you
are probably downright giddy for Spring signifies the arrival of two of the
biggest infection prevention and control conferences in North America: IPAC-Canada
and APIC. If you're Canadian, you are
probably counting down the hours until you fly off to Halifax to enjoy 5 days
of work free, kid free, spouse free educational fun! If you're like me, you're also probably
trying to figure out how to get that last pair of shoes to fit in your
suitcase!
The theme of this year's IPAC-Canada conference is
"PREVENTION: A Port in Any Storm" and from the agenda, promises to
cover virtually every topic of interest to IPs.
What I am thoroughly impressed with is the number of Oral and Poster
research presentations! There are 29 Oral presentations covering topics of Bugs & Drugs, Quality and Process
Improvement, Program Evaluation and Cleaning, Disinfection and
Sterilizing. The Cleaning, Disinfection
& Sterilization track covers CPE Contamination of Sinks and Drains, Mobile
Equipment Cleaning and the study my research team did on the interaction between wipe substrates and disinfectant chemistries. I summarized the study in the
"Disinfection - it's more than the juice you use blog" at the
beginning of April.
"PREVENTION: A Port in Any Storm" and from the agenda, promises to
cover virtually every topic of interest to IPs.
What I am thoroughly impressed with is the number of Oral and Poster
research presentations! There are 29 Oral presentations covering topics of Bugs & Drugs, Quality and Process
Improvement, Program Evaluation and Cleaning, Disinfection and
Sterilizing. The Cleaning, Disinfection
& Sterilization track covers CPE Contamination of Sinks and Drains, Mobile
Equipment Cleaning and the study my research team did on the interaction between wipe substrates and disinfectant chemistries. I summarized the study in the
"Disinfection - it's more than the juice you use blog" at the
beginning of April.
I am truly impressed by the >190 Research Poster
Submissions! I obviously cannot
summarize them all, so here are the top 8 that I will most definitely be
checking out!
Submissions! I obviously cannot
summarize them all, so here are the top 8 that I will most definitely be
checking out!
1. EFFECTS OF DISINFECTANT WIPES ON SENSITIVE HEALTHCARE
SURFACES - concludes that sensitive surfaces present a challenge to
disinfection but that there are disinfectants that are effective without
causing harm and costly damage.
SURFACES - concludes that sensitive surfaces present a challenge to
disinfection but that there are disinfectants that are effective without
causing harm and costly damage.
2. COMPARISON OF TERMINAL CLEANING OF A MEDICAL SURFACE
REPAIR PATCH ON HOSPITAL MATTRESSES - we know that mattress material is
problematic and prone to degradation from disinfectants. I'm curious to learn more about this patch.
REPAIR PATCH ON HOSPITAL MATTRESSES - we know that mattress material is
problematic and prone to degradation from disinfectants. I'm curious to learn more about this patch.
3. ARE EQUIPMENT DEPOTS THE ANSWER TO QUALITY CONTROL IN
CLEANING NON-CRITICAL EQUIPMENT? - having conducted audits of facilities and
seen firsthand that shared equipment is not being cleaned and disinfected as it
should this one really piques my interest!
CLEANING NON-CRITICAL EQUIPMENT? - having conducted audits of facilities and
seen firsthand that shared equipment is not being cleaned and disinfected as it
should this one really piques my interest!
4. CLEANING OF ENVIRONMENTAL SURFACES IN OUTPATIENT
CLINICS IS LESS THAN PERFECT! - YEP! I'm
certainly interested to learn how they improved outcomes!
CLINICS IS LESS THAN PERFECT! - YEP! I'm
certainly interested to learn how they improved outcomes!
5. RESULTS OF AN IPAC-CANADA MEMBERSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL
HYGIENE NEEDS ASSESSMENT - I can't wait to hear about this survey!
HYGIENE NEEDS ASSESSMENT - I can't wait to hear about this survey!
6. IF IT'S GREEN, IT'S CLEAN! - reviews how one facility
went about developing a program to clearly identify if patient care equipment
was clean or dirty.
went about developing a program to clearly identify if patient care equipment
was clean or dirty.
7. TRUE GRIME: OPERATING ROOM CLEANLINESS: BUSTING THE
DUST - reviews how a facility improved their cleaning and disinfection
practices with the OR department
DUST - reviews how a facility improved their cleaning and disinfection
practices with the OR department
8. AUTOMATED WHEELCHAIR WASHERS: ARE THEY EFFECTIVE FOR
CLEANING/SANITIZING COMMODES? INVESTIGATION AND LESSONS LEARNED -
Interesting..with the issues we have in shared equipment not getting cleaned, I
would hope that automated washers would be a potential alternative!
CLEANING/SANITIZING COMMODES? INVESTIGATION AND LESSONS LEARNED -
Interesting..with the issues we have in shared equipment not getting cleaned, I
would hope that automated washers would be a potential alternative!
For those of you attending IPAC-Canada be sure to find
me. I'd love to catch up or meet you for
the first time! I'll be tweeting so
follow me @nicolecronkenny. If you're
not attending be sure to follow #IPACCanada2014 to keep up with what is being
said! The conference as I said promises
to cover a wide variety of topics - including a full day Disinfection Symposium
on my favorite topic of cleaning and disinfection!
me. I'd love to catch up or meet you for
the first time! I'll be tweeting so
follow me @nicolecronkenny. If you're
not attending be sure to follow #IPACCanada2014 to keep up with what is being
said! The conference as I said promises
to cover a wide variety of topics - including a full day Disinfection Symposium
on my favorite topic of cleaning and disinfection!
Bugging Off!
Nicole
