 During International Infection Prevention Week (October 14–20), MDH would like to take a moment to recognize infection preventionists and the work you do. A huge “THANK YOU!” to everyone who makes it possible for us to do our work in the MDH Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI&AR) Unit. Minnesota’s infection preventionists play a crucial role in public health efforts to prevent and control infectious disease. From our perspective, you are key to any public health response!
Your expertise in infection prevention and control and your leadership in driving performance improvement are an invaluable asset to patient care and safety. With the greatest sincerity, we thank you for your tireless work to stop the spread of dangerous infections, educate the public, and link medical providers with health departments to prevent and control disease. Reporting diseases and submitting specimens can be time-consuming and challenging, but they are essential to inform not only local public health efforts, but also national policy and vaccine development.
We value and appreciate your unwavering dedication and commitment. It takes a special person to do what you do and to do it so well despite the challenges you face. Thank you for making a difference.
|
To recognize National Health Education Week (October 15–19), download our Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative fact sheets and use our resources for educators! The fact sheets cover many important topics regarding antibiotic resistance and stewardship across human, animal, and environmental health, also known as "One Health." Whether you are a physician, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist, patient, pet-owner, meat-eater, or milk-drinker, there is a fact sheet for you! The For Educators webpage has links to lesson plans and activities on antibiotic resistance and stewardship. By increasing everyone's knowledge on appropriate antibiotic use, we can work together to combat the problem of antibiotic resistance.
If there is a topic regarding antibiotic resistance or antibiotic stewardship that you think should be covered, please email us at health.stewardship@state.mn.us.
 Do you have leftover antibiotics or medications in your cabinet? Do not throw them in the trash or flush them down the toilet or drain, because they can end up in our natural waterways.
On Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m.–2p.m., bring leftover medications to a clinic or pharmacy near you. The Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day provides an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted, unneeded, and expired prescription drugs, like antibiotics and opioids. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, aides, and all health care workers should encourage patients, residents, and clients to dispose of all leftover medications appropriately.
Do your part to prevent substance misuse and keep it out of our lakes and rivers!
Find a collection site for October 27 on the DEA Take Back Day website.
You can also properly dispose of medications year-round!
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Dispose of Unwanted Medications
|
Calling all infection preventionists, directors of nursing, and nurse educators! MDH is hosting a free, three-part Injection Safety Workshop on October 30, November 6, and November 13, 2018. The webinar series will give participants the tools to review injection safety practices within their own facility and identify steps to create an injection safety program. Free CEUs available.
October 30, November 6, and November 13, 2018
Each session will be held 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. central.
Learn more and register in advance to attend each webinar:
Injection Safety Workshop
Contact the MDH HAI unit at Health.HAI@state.mn.us with any questions.
Please join us on Thursday, November 15 at 12 p.m. as we discuss Infections, Antibiotic Use, and Infection Control Practices in Minnesota Nursing Homes. Dr. Nicola Thompson from CDC and J.P. Mahoehney from MDH will share the results of the Nursing Home Prevalence Survey (NHPS). The NHPS assessed healthcare-associated infections and the use of antimicrobial drugs from a random sample of nursing homes from 10 states including Minnesota. The aim of this webinar is to share the results of the NHPS with long-term care facilities throughout the state. One hour of general CE credit will be available to all professionals that attend the call.
Register for Infections, Antibiotic Use, and Infection Control Practices in Minnesota Nursing Homes.
Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Bethany On The Lake in Alexandria, and TRIA Orthopaedic Center headquartered in Bloomington received CHAIN Awards for Excellence, which commend the infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship efforts of health care teams working to build safer health care environments. The annual awards were presented at the Collaborative Healthcare-Associated Infection Network (CHAIN) conference on September 26. In the coming months, we will feature a brief summary of each nomination in this newsletter.
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. By leveraging collective capacity and resources, integrating and aligning related initiatives, and breaking down silos and barriers to implementation of best practices, CHAIN serves as a resource to its members and the health care community.
The Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Honor Roll for Long-term Care (LTC) has been designed in an effort to recognize the programs developed and the commitment made to antibiotic stewardship. You are invited to check out the Minnesota Antibiotic Stewardship Honor Roll website if:
- Your LTC facility has a program in place and you have not applied for the Long-term Care Honor Roll before. It's time to do so now!
- Your LTC facility is in the process of developing your program and you would like to learn more about programs other facilities have implemented.
Read the invitation letter from the Antibiotic Stewardship Honor Roll supporting partners.
This statewide initiative is supported by Minnesota Department of Health, Care Providers of Minnesota, Leading Age Minnesota, Minnesota Hospital Association, Stratis Health, APIC Minnesota, CHAIN, and the Minnesota One Health Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Joint Commission have developed new infection control resources for podiatry. The free online resources are part of ADOPT (Adaptation and Dissemination of Outpatient Infection Prevention). The Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Podiatry Settings includes information to help facilities develop policies and procedures that meet minimal expectations of patient safety for providers in outpatient podiatry offices or providers who travel to provide podiatry services in other settings such as home care or long-term care. The Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care, a general guide for outpatient settings, now includes a fillable assessment checklist.
|
