The Joint Commission offers free resources, including podcasts, offering tips to better comply with accreditation standards. The following are five tips for better infection control practices extracted from a podcast with Lisa Waldowski, MS, APRN, CIC, an infection control specialist for The Joint Commission.
1. Recognize infection control involves an entire organization and that every member has a role to contribute in infection prevention and control.
2. Changing organizational culture is key to conquering perennial problems like hand hygiene. An atmosphere in which healthcare workers feel comfortable holding one another accountable for the simplest tasks is one with a strong safety culture, according to Ms. Waldowski.
3. Remember infection control has many moving parts — training, competency, having the appropriate people in infection control positions, collegiality, collaboration and frontline leadership are all important components to successful infection control and prevention.
4. Focus on the 'why,' and not just the 'what.' The understanding of infection control processes is just as important as their implementation.
5. Keep efforts focused on both infection control and infection prevention, and don't allow your facility's approach to become one that chases issues after the fact. Use risk analysis and planning to preempt potential problems.
More Articles on Infection Control & Clinical Quality:
1. Recognize infection control involves an entire organization and that every member has a role to contribute in infection prevention and control.
2. Changing organizational culture is key to conquering perennial problems like hand hygiene. An atmosphere in which healthcare workers feel comfortable holding one another accountable for the simplest tasks is one with a strong safety culture, according to Ms. Waldowski.
3. Remember infection control has many moving parts — training, competency, having the appropriate people in infection control positions, collegiality, collaboration and frontline leadership are all important components to successful infection control and prevention.
4. Focus on the 'why,' and not just the 'what.' The understanding of infection control processes is just as important as their implementation.
5. Keep efforts focused on both infection control and infection prevention, and don't allow your facility's approach to become one that chases issues after the fact. Use risk analysis and planning to preempt potential problems.
