Preventing Infections in Health Care Facilities

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) continue to plague facilities in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that one out of every 20 patients will become infected with an HAI.¹

Two of the most troublesome HAIs that health care facilities face include norovirus, a pathogen that causes gastroenteritis and food poisoning, and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a spore-forming bacterium that causes symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. These infections spread rapidly through populations and can cost facilities thousands of additional dollars to contain. However, there are prevention mechanisms and protocols available to help minimize outbreaks.

HAI prevention should be a priority for health care staff working in all types of facilities including hospitals, outpatient, and long-term care facilities. Prevention is not only in the best interest of the patients, but health care staff as well. It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain a safe patient environment. Cleaning staff need to be knowledgeable about proper hand hygiene protocols, personal protective equipment use, disease transmission, and cleaning and disinfection procedures for HAIs. Therefore, training and educating staff on these issues should be a main priority for both the infection prevention and environmental services teams. While protocols can differ between facilities, all personnel should have their roles and responsibilities clearly defined so that their progress can be monitored.

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