Category Archives: Blog
Technology Alone Can’t Keep Patients Safe: The RaDonda Vaught Case
When a Tennessee court found nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide, nurses everywhere cringed. They could only too easily see themselves in Vaught’s shoes. Vaught, an experienced intensive care nurse, accidentally admin...
Monkeypox & COVID-19 Underscore the Importance of Contact Tracing
More than 1600 monkeypox cases were confirmed in at least 35 countries by mid-June, 2022. And though experts agree that monkeypox – a viral illness that causes fever, swollen lymph nodes, flu-like symptoms and a rash – is unlikely to cause death ...
Leapfrog Updates Hand Hygiene Monitoring Requirement for 2022
The Leapfrog Group is offering hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers an alternative path to meeting the organization’s Hand Hygiene Standard. On March 14, 2022, Leapfrog released its Summary of Changes to the 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Survey & ...
Nurse Reacts to Electronic Hand Hygiene System
By Jennifer L.W. Fink, RN, BSN “This? This is a thing for nurses?” TikTokker @TheNurseErica steps aside, revealing an electronic hand hygiene system. Her skepticism and sarcasm are clearly on display. And you know what? I don’t blame her. Long-...
Leapfrog Hand Hygiene Survey: 3 Surprising Facts
You know how important your Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is to your institution’s reputation and functioning. And you know that the Leapfrog Hand Hygiene Survey contributes to your facility’s safety grade. You probably also know that Leapfrog h...
4 Ways Technology Makes an Infection Preventionist’s Job Easier
“Technology made large populations possible; large populations now make technology indispensable.” ― Joseph Wood Krutch, American author Infection preventionists have a vitally important job: they’re charged with preventing the spread of infe...
Hand Hygiene: Move Beyond Measurement and Nurture Change
Weighing a chicken doesn’t make it fatter. That piece of wisdom comes from William Bornstein, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer for Emory Healthcare. It might seem strange for a medical doctor to “weigh i...
Investment is Required to Create Resilient Patient Safety Systems
Patient safety systems must be able to withstand serious threats to patient safety. If such systems whither when confronted with staff shortages, supply chain disruptions, or infectious diseases, they cannot be considered patient safety systems. A sy...
Leapfrog Not Backing Down on Hand Hygiene Requirements
Some hospitals have asked The Leapfrog Group to relax its hand hygiene standards, says Leah Binder, Leapfrog’s president and CEO, according to a January 28, 2022 Becker’s Hospital Review article. That’s not going to happen. Becker’s Hos...
Introducing a Hand Hygiene Initiative? Follow These 3 Steps to Boost Staff Buy-In
No change initiative will be successful without staff buy-in. It doesn’t matter how inspired, impactful, or well-researched the initiative is. A hand hygiene initiative that’s projected to significantly decrease healthcare-associated infections (...