Respiratory Season Readiness: Infection Prevention Tips for Healthcare Teams

Respiratory Season Readiness: Infection Prevention Tips for Healthcare Teams

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Respiratory season is upon us once again, bringing an increased risk of illnesses such as influenza, RSV, and other viral infections. As an infection prevention professional, now is the time to ensure that your teams, patients, and communities are ready. Reinforce your facility’s infection prevention plan, review respiratory hygiene protocols, and help others understand the critical role of everyday precautions in limiting the spread of respiratory illnesses. Take time to assess your facility’s readiness by ensuring that respiratory hygiene stations are well-stocked with masks for patient use, signage is visible, and staff are trained to recognize and respond to respiratory symptoms quickly. Foster open communication so everyone feels empowered to report concerns and follow prevention measures consistently. Encourage vaccination among staff and patients, as immunizations remain the most effective way…
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Keeping New Employees Safe and Healthy

Keeping New Employees Safe and Healthy

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It’s a busy time of year for employee health! Recent graduates from nursing and medical school are entering the field of healthcare. These folks bring energy, skill, and new potential to your healthcare team. But before they can jump into patient care, there is an essential stop the must make: Employee Health. Employee Health (EH) plays a critical role in onboarding safely and efficiently, ensuring that new staff are protected, cleared to work, and ready to join the healthcare team. Incomplete records or missed steps can delay start dates, create patient safety risks, or lead to gaps in care. In this newsletter, we break down what new hires will likely need to meet EH requirements—and how you can help set them up for success. Here’s what your new staff must…
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How to Evaluate Medical Research as a Healthcare Professional

How to Evaluate Medical Research as a Healthcare Professional

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When nurses hear the word research, they often groan. They picture an array of test tubes or petri dishes and scientists hunched over microscopes. While those pictures can be accurate, we use research every day. All healthcare workers strive to use evidence-based care to provide the very best care to patients. Research is the bedrock of evidence-based practice. As the title implies, IPs strive to decrease the risk of infection and to prevent the transmission of infection to others.  IPs review the data and implement guidelines and interventions based upon the research. IPs and other healthcare workers must know how to review and appraise the research. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the information.  It is important to understand what was studied, how it was studied,…
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Grand Rounds: You’re More Important Than You Think You Are

Grand Rounds: You’re More Important Than You Think You Are

Grand Rounds Series, Homepage
Join Matt LaRocco, CADC, for an inspiring and practical presentation on Substance Use and Infection Prevention. In “You Are More Important Than You Think You Are,” Matt shares insight on how healthcare professionals can meet patients where they are, using compassion and support to help individuals who use substances protect themselves and others from infection. This session emphasizes the power of connection, nonjudgmental care, and harm reduction strategies that prioritize dignity and health. Don’t miss this powerful message about the role each of us plays in prevention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EurR2GgU4
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