Infection & Prevention Control
Enhancing Education and Training on Infection Control for the U.S.  Nurses

​NSNA, ANA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are teaming up with a number of organizational affiliates to train nurses on infection control. The goal of this initiative is to protect nurses and their patients from infections that can spread in medical facilities. Each of the organizations will host webinars, facilitate in-person interactive training sessions, and provide infection control materials free of charge for a wide-range of specialties within the nursing community.
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Why is this Significant?

Nurses are the front-line of defense against infections spreading in U.S. healthcare facilities. Moreover, the increasing number of emerging diseases often forces nurses to take on roles outside of their normal duties. This includes but is not limited to roles in environmental cleaning and waste management. With the evolution of emerging threats and ongoing issues such as healthcare-associated infections, nurses need to be equipped to understand and follow infection control procedures to not only protect themselves, but also to protect their patients.
Project Description
The purpose of the Enhancing Education and Training on Infection Control for U.S. Nurses project is to:
  1. Provide real-time, tailored infection control training to nurses,
  2. Improve adherence to infection prevention and control practices known to be effective in preventing exposure to Ebola virus disease and other emerging infectious diseases; and
  3. Enhance the confidence of nurses to care for patients with Ebola virus disease or other highly contagious diseases through effective education and training.

NICE Network News

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CDC Publishes Summary of HAI Prevention Progress in U.S. from 2006-2016
To help each state better understand its progress in healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention and identify areas that need assistance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes HAI Progress Reports. Improvement of healthcare quality and the reduction of HAIs in U.S. hospitals has been significant and as a result, healthcare in the U.S. is safer now than even 10 years ago. Building upon this success and continuing towards the elimination of HAIs is critical.
The year 2015 marked the start of the new five-year (2015-2020) goals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination and a time of important updates and improvements for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), CDC’s HAI surveillance system. This provided an opportunity to assess prevention progress while strategizing about the best way to move forward as a country. The summary of HAI prevention progress and next steps can be found in the reports below.
September 2017 - links provided below
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​Breaking News - CDC Patient Safety Notice: Updated Product Recall Information
CDC is alerting clinicians about updated product recall information regarding drug and dietary supplements manufactured by PharmaTech. The previous recall of Diocto Liquid and Diocto Syrup has been expanded to include all liquid drug products and dietary supplements manufactured by PharmaTech and distributed by Rugby, Leader Brand and Major Pharmaceuticals.  The recall is due to risk of product contamination with Burkholderia cepacia and the potential for human infection.
 
Please share this information with your membership.
  
The product recall notice and list of products can be found here:  Recall of all Liquid Products Manufactured by Pharmatech LLC and Distributed by Leader Brand, Major Pharmaceuticals, and Rugby Laboratories.
FDA Press Release August 11, 2017: FDA warns of potential contamination in multiple brands of drugs, dietary supplements
FDA Alert August 8, 2017: FDA updates on 2017 Burkholderia cepacia contamination
 
Additional resources:
FDA: MedWatch Safety Alert
CDC: Information about the 2016 docusate-related outbreak: https://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/b-cepacia/index.htm

Infection Control Resources

In-Person Training Opportunities
​(coming soon)


​Webinars