Feed Editor 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST Briefings in Healthcare Environmental Services provides industry-specific news and information to ASHES members and other industry professionals. Delivered weekly, the publication keeps subscribers and their staffs informed of topics that impact the environmental services industry. http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/ashes/briefings.xml en It's been nearly a year since H1N1 arrived in the U.S. How has the healthcare system responded and is the nation any more prepared for a larger health crisis? The good news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that "there's no evidence that the virus is mutating in such a way to cause a different spectrum of illness, or will cause more severe cases," says the CDC's Dr. Beth Bell, associate director of science for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97a8bdd7d09 1 Execution has always demanded great leadership and in 21st Century health care, it demands Straight A Leadership! This Webinar will focus on your role as a leader in the health care organization and acknowledge that your responsibilities today are tough – and will only get tougher. To survive in a rapidly shifting, do-more-with-less external environment, organizations need the ability to execute swiftly and well. This Webinar, based on Studer Group's research with America's top health care organizations, will help YOU—the health care human resource professional—as well as other leaders in health care pinpoint the gaps that exist in Alignment, Action and Accountability and help identify what is needed to become a more resourceful, agile, high-performing organization. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97ca27c3086 2 For years, catheter-related bloodstream infections seemed to be a sometimes unavoidable complication of caring for the sickest patients in intensive care units. The infections kill 17,000 patients annually, and the average cost of caring for an infected patient is $45,000, studies show. But then a stunning thing happened: A group of Michigan hospitals implemented a relatively simple set of interventions, including a checklist of infection-control practices, and their average infection rate dropped 66 percent after one year. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b96c0f954b06 3 Atlanta-based pest-control company Orkin Commercial Services, has posted a series of free, online videos that help health care providers identify and prevent a bed bug infestation—an increasing problem in health care facilities. The videos are taken from Orkin's presentation at the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) Annual Conference, "Pulling Back the Sheets on the Bed Bugs Controversy." In the videos, Orkin entomologist William Lawrence, Ph.D., B.C.E., explains the basics of bed bug behavior; options for monitoring, prevention and treatment in health care facilities; and how the health care industry can develop a plan to protect against bed bugs. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97b07359194 4 Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, 45, is medical director of the Quality and Safety Research Group at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, which means he leads that institution's quest for safer ways to care for its patients. He also travels the country, advising hospitals on innovative safety measures. The Hudson Street Press has just released his book, "Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals: How One Doctor's Checklist Can Help Us Change Health Care from the Inside Out," written with Eric Vohr. An edited version of a two-hour conversation follows. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b96b15ba1443 5 Health Facilities Management (HFM) magazine and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) invite you to enter the 2010 Environmental Services (ES) Department of the Year competition, sponsored by CINTAS Healthcare Solutions. Submissions are being collected now! Take a look at the 2009 winner. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97a7a162dd0 6 Immunizing children and adolescents with inactivated influenza vaccine resulted in reduced rates of influenza in their community compared to a similar community in which children did not receive the vaccine, suggesting that vaccinating children may help prevent transmission of the virus and offer protection for unimmunized community residents, according to a study in the March 10 issue of JAMA. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97a6e328440 7 Employment at the nation's hospitals rose 0.03 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted 4,703,400 people, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That's 1,300 more people than in January and 32,700 more than a year ago. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b96bef072181 8 Hospital nurses spend three hours of a typical 12-hour shift away from the patients' bedside to complete regulatory requirements, redundant paperwork, and other non-direct care, a recent online survey of more than 1,600 nurses shows. Some of the biggest distractions and time eaters include documenting patient care information in multiple locations, and completing logs, checklists, and other "redundant" paperwork, the nurses said. They also reported wasted time trying to secure equipment and supplies. 11 Mar 2010 09:24:03 CST http://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4b97ab7ee4567 9