JULY - 202319IN THE FACILITY, INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL PRACTICES MUST BE MARRIED TO HOME-LIKE LIVING AS WELL AS HEALTHCARE FACILITY INFECTION CONTROL PRACTICEScaused by bacteria within the past year. Often, after the acute infection is resolved, these bacteria remain in or on the body, but not in enough quantity to cause an acute illness. This is called "colonization," where the bacteria causing the infection and the normal bacteria always in the body coexist somewhat in harmony until the "bad" bacteria find an opportunity to start multiplying and causing symptomatic infection once again. Unfortunately, just like a dog sheds hair into the environment, bacteria in and on the body shed regardless of whether they are colonized or infected. Bacteria are microscopic, so they cannot be seen by the naked eye, but they are definitely present and can contaminate surfaces the resident or the resident's body fluids touch. Residents shed bacteria most heavily in their rooms, close to and on their beds. These bacteria can be picked up by others through touch (e.g., touching the resident's skin, body fluids, or environment around the resident). An analogy of how this happens is to consider the honeybee. The honeybee flies from flower to flower, picking up pollen from one source flower and depositing some of that pollen on other flowers. New flower variations are created through cross-pollinization, which is the spreading of pollen from one flower to another. Similarly, once picked up by a caregiver, bacteria can be transported to other residents or other surfaces through touch. Caregivers, visitors, and residents pick up these bacteria and deposit them wherever they go, which is why hand hygiene remains the single most effective way to stop the spread of infection to others. We must get the pollen (i.e., bacteria) from one resident off of our hands before touching anything or anyone.To combat this ubiquitous world of bacteria, which can and does cause infections and is even harder to treat, skilled nursing facilities have begun following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called "Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP)". Following EBP, caregivers put on an isolation gown and gloves when providing close, direct care to residents who are colonized or infected (excluding infections that require isolation). The caregiver removes the gown and gloves and performs hand hygiene before caring for any other resident. These actions greatly reduce the risks of the caregiver becoming a "honey bee" and transferring bacteria from one resident to another in the SNF. Residents receiving EBP care are not confined to their rooms but are free to continue living and enjoying life to the fullest extent possible while residing in the SNF. The use of EBP in addition to cleaning and disinfecting practices throughout the facility significantly reduces the risks of transmitting bacteria from one resident to another and reduces the chances of "catching" an infection from others.We have learned much from the COVID-19 pandemic about reducing the risks of infection, and in the SNF world, three basic practices stand out and continue to be the norm in today's modern healthcare world: (1) frequent and appropriate hand hygiene; (2) source control--implementing practices like EBP; and (3) cleaning and disinfecting of the environment. Looking towards the future, technology will one day improve the quality of infection prevention and control practices in skilled nursing facilities. How? The world of healthcare may not have these answers yet, but we are confident that the medical technology industry is on that path.
< Page 9 | Page 11 >