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An Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel recently recommended that fit-tested N95 respirators rather than surgical masks be worn by health care workers treating H1N1 pandemic influenza A patients.
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In anticipation of a possible significant increase in demand for emergency services due to H1N1 influenza resurgence this fall many hospitals have expressed significant concerns about compliance with "patient dumping" laws, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports.
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Asked about budget woes and cutbacks widely reported by infection preventionists, the president of the Joint Commission said surveyors are not seeing "any substantial increase in problems due to reduced staffing in these critical programs."
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved four vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, with the first lots expected to be distributed by mid-October.
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Such a confluence of events and unpredictable circumstances e.g, host factors, medical interventions can result in a health care-associated infection that, despite the best efforts of all involved, the patient suffers and the IP is left to ponder the "whys" and "what ifs."
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After a spate of measles cases and outbreaks in 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is drafting a new recommendation that would tighten the criteria for measles immunity in health care workers.
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The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is urging patients to heighten awareness and become quite inquisitive before undergoing outpatient care.
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The recently finalized federal stimulus bill includes $1 billion to fund prevention and wellness programs, with $50 million going to states to implement health care-associated infection (HAI) reduction strategies.
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You've no doubt noticed that infection prevention is not convenient for those that work at the bedside. Professional frontline staff may not use the word "inconvenient" to describe their frustrations, yet the verbal message leaves little doubt when accompanied by wearisome body language.
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As recurrent hepatitis outbreaks continue in ambulatory care nationally, there are increasing calls for more oversight and training for health care workers in those settings.