Where Are YOU on the Road Map to HAI Elimination?

Author: Caitlin Stowe MPH, CPH, CIC, CPHQ, VA-BC

As we continuously strive to prevent patient harm and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has challenged hospitals to do even better. They released the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination (HAI Action Plan) back in October of 2016¹.

This action plan set very aggressive goals for U.S hospitals to meet by 2020 for central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), hospital onset Clostridium difficile infections, surgical site infections (SSIs), and other HAIs. While these goals may seem daunting, partnering with PDI can help you achieve your goals, possibly even before 2020.

Clostroides difficile

You might be thinking, “what bacteria is that??” Well, beginning in 2019, the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) will begin referring to Clostridium difficile by it’s new CLSI updated name, Clostroides difficile. Even though it has a new name, HHS still has a goal of 30% reduction of CDI from the 2015 baseline¹. Is your facility doing all it can to achieve the HHS target? In addition to presumptive isolation of patients with diarrhea and strict testing criteria, your facility should be disinfecting with a sporicidal agent when CDI is suspected. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a 1:10 bleach solution for daily and terminal disinfection for patients with suspected or confirmed CDI. PDI’sSani-Cloth® Bleachwipes meet that recommendation, and is the perfect partner to your other CDI prevention strategies.

CLABSI

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections, or CLABSIs, are no joke. Although there has been great progress since 2008, when CLABSIs were first publicly reported, there’s still have a long way to go. The HHS goal for 2020 is a 50% reduction, but as of 2016, there has only been a 10% CLABSI reduction.^1,2Is your facility doing everything it can to achieve your CLABSI goals and the HHS target? PDI’s Prevantics® products are the perfect tool in your CLABSI prevention toolkit. Our 3.15% CHG/70% IPA skin antisepsis products provide up to a 7-day continued antimicrobial activity on skin, providing your patients complete protection between central line dressing changes. For patient protection against hub contamination, PDI offers Prevantics Device Swab, which is the only FDA authorized 3.15%/70% IPA swab for scrub the hub. Using these two product lines together will increase protection against CLABSIs for your patients.

Surgical Site Infections

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are the most common and can be some of the costliest infections to treat². The HHS goal is a 30% reduction by 2020, and yet, SSIs have only reduced by 6% in 2016². SSI prevention is a multifactorial, multidisciplinary effort that includes interventions such as preoperative prophylaxis with antibiotics and preoperative bathing with CHG. But what are you doing to protect your patients from recontamination once they’ve decolonized their skin?? That’s where nasal decolonization comes in, and when it comes to nasal decolonization, PDI has you covered. Profend® Nasal Decolonization Kit is a 10% povidone-iodine solution for pre-operative nasal decolonization that provides 12 hours of protection against the most common pathogens that cause SSIs, including Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA³. You can be assured that your patients are protected from SSIs during their highest risk period with Profend® products.

While many of these HHS goals seem hard to achieve or even unobtainable, PDI wants to partner with you to help your facility meet these goals. With our full line of products and unmatched clinical support, we can work with you to help you meet or even exceed the HHS and your facility’s goals, well before 2020.