Silver (and copper) antimicrobial bullets to kill bacteria
Medical News Today
Dana Filoti of the University of New Hampshire will present thin films of silver and copper she has developed that can kill bacteria and may one day help to cut down on hospital infections. The antimicrobial properties of silver and copper have been known for centuries—last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially registered copper alloys, allowing them to be marketed with the label "kills 99.9 percent of bacteria within two hours." Copper ions are known to penetrate bacteria and disrupt molecular pathways important for their survival.More

Bacterial contamination of surgical scrubs and laundering mechanisms: Infection control implications
Infection Control Today
Surgical attire has evolved extensively from the days when surgeons would literally enter the operating theater in their street clothes and, at best, don an operating apron. In fact, it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that the importance of surgical barriers was routinely recognized. While there is general consensus today as to what is considered acceptable surgical attire, there remains a significant lack of organizational consensus, even in today’s highly infection-control conscious environment, as to where and how surgical attire is laundered and stored. More

CDC: H1N1 vaccine supply growing
AHA News Now
About 38 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine are available for states to order, twice as much as a few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About one-third of the supply is in the nasal spray form. As of Oct. 28, nearly 16.9 million doses of H1N1 vaccine had been shipped to states. Flu activity continues to be widespread in 48 states. More

Cost-effectiveness of the hospital infection control response
Infection Control Today
When it comes to preventing the spread of respiratory infections in a hospital, is it better to adopt the most stringent measures possible or a more moderate approach? One might assume it's best to go with the strictest measures possible, but what if prevention comes with a hefty price tag? More

ASHES announces online education courses for January
ASHES
Start the New Year off on the right foot and register for one of the ASHES online education courses starting in January. The Supervisory Course and Director Course will begin Monday, January 11. Starting January 25, we will start the CHESP Study Group. Click here to view the complete listing of online education courses.More

'Clever cleaning' the way To beat hospital superbugs, U.K.
Medical News Today
Just one extra cleaner on a hospital ward can save lives and money, according to new research sponsored by UNISON, the UK's largest public service union. The detailed study found that one extra cleaner, using targeted cleaning methods, had a "measurable effect on the clinical environment," cutting the number of patients who contracted MRSA and saving the hospital an estimated £30,000 - £70,000. If that were replicated in every ward in every hospital, many lives would be saved and millions of pounds. More

ASHES' Business Case for Environmental Services - Integrated Pest Management (Sponsored by Orkin)
ASHES
ASHES offers comprehensive IPM planning and implementation guidelines in its ASHES Recommended Practice: Integrated Pest Management, co-authored by experts from ASHES and Orkin, Inc., and available from the AHA Online Store (under "Environmental Services"). Click here to view an overview of a typical IPM implementation based on this best-practices guide.More

Federal Safe-patient-Handling Bill introduced
Nurse.com
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., has introducted a bill mandating safe handling of patients. The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop and implement a standard to eliminate, to the greatest degree feasible based on technological and medical considerations, manual lifting of patients by RNs and other healthcare workers through the use of mechanical devices. More

Healthcare sector accounts for 8 percent of U.S. carbon footprint
Environmental Leader
The U.S. healthcare sector accounts for nearly a tenth of the country’s carbon-dioxide emissions, according to University of Chicago researchers. The research takes into account activities such as hospital care, scientific research and the production and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs. The study shows that the healthcare sector produces 8 percent of the country’s total carbon-dioxide output despite accounting for 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). More