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As the field of infection prevention undergoes sweeping changes, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) must reassess its role and redefine its mission, an epidemiologist said recently in Orlando at the group's annual meeting.
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In the silence after the speakers had concluded the opening session recently in Orlando of the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) as those with questions were moving to the microphones moderator Patrick J. Brennan, MD, acknowledged what many were thinking by noting that there was an "800-pound gorilla in the room."
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State hospital associations throughout the nation should be in receipt of a May 6, 2008, letter from U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking what they are doing to prevent health care-associated infections (HAIs).
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Hospital infection prevention efforts aimed at methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appear to having some effect in preventing nosocomial transmission.
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The seemingly benign use of a checklist to ensure infection control measures are followed during a clinical procedure erupted in controversy recently when a federal agency questioned whether one such program fell into the category of human research.
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Even as health care epidemiologists fear that "getting to zero" infection prevention efforts may be unleashing some unintended consequences, one highly successful program associated with the movement recently drew the praises of Congress.
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The onus for much of the "needless suffering and death" caused by health care-acquired infections (HAIs) was recently ascribed to a failure of leadership by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a scathing report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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Once primarily a problem for large tertiary care hospitals, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections increasingly are a patient safety hazard in community settings.
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The Joint Commission continues to emphasize the patient safety issue of medication administration, warning that children are at particular risk of harmful medication errors.
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The Joint Commission has reiterated its standards require a clean hospital environment in light of comments and criticism at the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's April 16th hearing on "Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs): A Preventable Epidemic."
