Cruising for a norovirus infection?
Infection Control Today
A team of researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts University School of Medicine, have found that widespread poor compliance with regular cleaning of public restrooms on cruise ships may predict subsequent norovirus infection outbreaks (NoVOs). This study, which appears in the Nov. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, is the first study of environmental hygiene on cruise ships.More

ASHES names 2010 president
AHA News Now
The American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services has elected as its president for 2010 Fiona Nemetz, director of environmental services, patient transportation, safety and parking at Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta. More

Settlement sets national model for H1N1 hospital safety measures
Infection Control Today
In a dramatic settlement seen as a novel pattern for the nation, the nation's largest nurses union and professional association, and one of the country's biggest hospital systems announced a landmark agreement that sets a national standard on containing the spread of pandemics such as H1N1 influenza. More

Program will monitor Maryland doctors' hand-washing
The Associated Press
Be sure to wash up, Maryland doctors and nurses. You're being watched. State officials said they're creating teams of staff members at hospitals around the state to secretly monitor their colleagues' hand-washing habits as part of a first-of-its-kind program. The monitors will contribute to a systemwide report on hand-washing, using $100,000 in federal stimulus money. More

MRSA strain linked to high death rates
Medical News Today
A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. More

Oklahoma hospitals pin success on efficient ER units
The Oklahoman
Overflowing hospital emergency rooms have been getting more crowded for years, and now concerns about the H1N1 flu virus are taxing emergency care facilities and physicians even further. Yet the operations of emergency departments are vital, not only for the ability to quickly treat the seriously ill and injured, but to a hospital’s financial health. More

H1N1 death rate highest among patients over 50, CA study finds
AHA News Now
In a study of 1,088 California patients with 2009 H1N1 flu reported in the Nov. 4 Journal of the American Medical Association, infants had the highest hospitalization rates and patients over 50 had the highest death rate. More

End of year sale on ES training DVDs - Order today
ASHES
Order three Environmental Services training DVDs by December 31, 2009 and get two free! Browse the catalogue of programs to educate your staff on topics ranging from H1N1 prevention to proper procedures for cleaning operating rooms. Click here. to order your DVDs today.More

Researchers find room design can enhance patient care
Healthcare Design
The design of a consultation room can improve the quality of an outpatient visit. A collaborative research study, developed by Nurture by Steelcase and Mayo Clinic, was conducted to understand the extent to which a consultation room designed to support present-day clinical encounters could affect the consultation between patients and clinicians. The results of this randomized trial, the first of its kind, will appear in the Fall issue of Health Environments Research and Design Journal (HERD). More