Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Update - Aug. 2018

Minnesota Department of Health

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Update

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Aug. 28 2018

Save the Date! Panel Discussion on Antibiotic Resistance and Stewardship at MN State Fair

  • Thursday, Aug. 30, at 5 p.m. on the Eco Experience Building Sustainability Stage, members of the Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative will discuss the problem of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.
  • Get your questions answered by hearing from experts in human, animal, and environmental health about how we are working together in Minnesota to make an impact on this urgent public health issue.
  • If you can't make it to the panel discussion and Q&A, find the Antibiotic Experts any other day of the fair in the Eco Experience Building!

Learn More: Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative


New Antimicrobial Stewardship Resource for Ambulatory Settings

Recent initiatives and regulatory changes have led to progress in antimicrobial stewardship efforts in hospitals and long-term care facilities. However, the majority of antibiotic prescribing takes place in ambulatory settings and few resources are available to track and improve use of antimicrobials for outpatients. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) recently publicized a new toolkit aimed at improving antimicrobial use in two such settings.  

Learn more: SHEA: Emergency Department and Urgent Care Stewardship Toolkit


Kudos: Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship

Kudos to Regions Hospital and the HealthPartners health system for taking an important step forward in hospital antibiotic stewardship efforts. They have begun tracking and reporting antibiotic use data using a component of the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) called the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module. The system enables hospitals to monitor antibiotic use from individual patient care units and across all inpatient units. A key statistic is available from this system, the Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio (SAAR). This compares antibiotic use rates from a single hospital to that of similar wards from hospitals across the U.S.

The Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center was the first hospital in Minnesota to use the NHSN system for antibiotic use reporting. MDH has heard from several other hospitals planning to follow suit. If you are interested in learning more about this system, particularly to explore use within your hospital, please contact us at health.hai@state.mn.us.

Learn more: NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Module


New Infection Prevention Resource for Ambulatory Settings

Are you responsible for infection prevention in an ambulatory setting? Whether you are starting a new infection prevention program or seeking ways to improve an existing program in an outpatient setting, you may find a review by Steinkuller et al. helpful. It provides step-by-step guidance for implementing a program and offers advice on prioritizing efforts when resources aren't available to develop a full, formal infection prevention program.

Read more: Outpatient Infection Prevention: A Practical Primer

As the review’s title suggests, it provides practical guidance for implementing the CDC's resource for infection prevention in outpatient settings.

Learn more: Guide to Infection Prevention of Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care


New Recommendations Available for Wound Care in Long-Term Care Facilities

Immunocompromised, elderly, and most other residents of long-term care facilities are especially susceptible to infections. Unfortunately, as a result, facilities sometimes experience serious outbreaks due to viruses and bacteria, especially if there are lapses in infection control. For example, while outbreaks of invasive group A streptococcal infections are relatively rare in the general population, they can occur in nursing homes with some frequency. One potential source of infection is contaminated hands and/or supplies used for wound care.

MDH has developed a new tool to help long-term care facilities ensure implementation of safe practices when providing wound care. The tool can also be used to prevent the spread of potentially deadly infections. These recommendations can be adapted to other settings for a similar purpose, such as within clinics and for home care.

Learn more: Wound Care Infection Prevention Recommendations for Long-Term Care Facilities


Coming Soon: Statewide Infectious Diseases Journal Club for Pharmacists

Starting fall 2018, there will be a statewide journal club for all pharmacists interested in infectious diseases. Journal clubs are anticipated to be via webinar over lunch and led by a PGY2 infectious diseases pharmacy resident from Abbott Northwestern Hospital or the University of Minnesota Medical Center. There will be free continuing education provided for Minnesota licensure. If you are interested in being added to the group, please email Jessica Holt at Jessica.Holt@allina.com.


Introducing a Toolbox for Management of High Consequence Infectious Disease in Frontline Health Care Facilities

Created by a team from MDH, APIC MN, and the MN Healthcare Coalitions, this toolbox provides basic components that a hospital should have in place to identify, isolate, inform, and manage a High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID). It provides a suggested standard for MN hospitals using a new infectious disease screening tool to identify respiratory symptoms, fever, rash, and travel. This screening will identify routine communicable infections as well as those that have greater consequences.

The current threat of a person appearing at a MN emergency room with an HCID such as MERS CoV or Lassa fever is real. As we witnessed with SARS and H1N1 influenza, the possibility of a new agent appearing abruptly is a reality. The next novel agent is imminent and we must be ready.

The toolkit includes planning tools, training tools, exercise templates, and readiness binder. Steps to initiate use of the toolbox include the following:

  1. Planning: Perform the 2 planning activities using the Needs Assessment and Exercise Planner.
  2. Education: Use the PowerPoint slides and videos in your current or new preparedness program.
  3. Exercises: Grab one of the prepared mini-drills and perform a live or table top exercise.
  4. Readiness Binder: Print out the binder contents, place in a binder and keep in the clinical area for staff to use if a patient comes in with a potential HCID. 

Contact MDH staff at health.icar@state.mn.us if you need assistance in preparing your program or performing mini-drills. The toolbox is a work in progress and will evolve with implementation and comments from users.

Learn more: High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) Toolbox for Frontline Health Care Facilities


August is National Immunization Awareness Month

National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is a great opportunity to remind staff that injections must be given safely every time and empower patients and their families to insist on nothing less. Build injection safety awareness and training into your immunization program.

Injection safety guidelines from the CDC

  • Maintain aseptic technique
  • Perform hand hygiene before preparing and administering vaccines
  • Use a new needle and new syringe for each injection
  • If using a single-dose vial (SDV) discard after use (SDVs should be used for one patient only)

Injection Safety Training

MDH will be hosting a fall webinar about injection safety. Topics include:

  • Outbreaks that have occurred as the result of unsafe injection practices
  • 8 Things Every Health Care Provider Needs to Know about Injection Safety
  • Drug diversion
  • Tools that are helpful in developing an injection safety program in your facility

The webinar will consist of three one-hour sessions spread over three weeks. CEUs, resources and tools will be provided. More information will be available soon at Injection Safety.


2018 CHAIN Fall Conference

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018
12:30-4:30 p.m.
Earle Brown Heritage Center
Free

The Minnesota Collaborative Healthcare-Associated Infection Network (CHAIN) presents the 2018 CHAIN Fall Conference. Join us to learn about the latest evidence-based approaches for reducing and preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antibiotic resistance in Minnesota.

Audience
Patient safety and quality staff, infection preventionists, nurse managers, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and any other professionals working in hospitals, long term care, community care, or outpatient settings to prevent HAIs and combat antibiotic resistance.

Continuing Education Credits and Contact Hours for Health Professionals
Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance following completion of a post-conference online evaluation survey. Attendees are responsible for determining if this program meets the criteria for licensure or recertification for their discipline.

About CHAIN
The Collaborative Healthcare-Associated Infections Network (CHAIN) represents a partnership formed in 2011 between the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC-Minnesota), the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Hospital Association, and Stratis Health. In early 2017, CHAIN expanded membership to include organizations representing providers across care settings. CHAIN coordinates across the continuum of health care delivery, and supports patients, individuals, and their families to prevent harm from infections acquired in the process of care and combat antibiotic resistance.