Infection control shocked, shcked and apalled.

mycrofft

mycrofft

Still crazy but elsewhere
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Two things to do today:
1. Take your watch off and clean the band. See the debris coming out of it? Keep cleaning it, it will come out for a while.
2. Shears holster and shears...wipe shears with peroxide as a quick and dirty agent to reveal blood, and some other types of spooge. Is your holster any cleaner? Some hospitals, after culture tests, have banned staff from carrying their own scissors.

What else do you have that needs but fails to get frequent cleaning, or needs to go bye bye?

PS: what about the mop you use to swamp out the unit?;)

PPS: Once we got a spineboard in exchange at an ER. I poured peroxide on the straps and they were all saturated with dried blood.
 
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Stethoscopes are also commonly not sterilized between patients. It's probably an old phenomenon, but I'm sure it still occurs in some agencies.
 
mycrofft said:

PS: what about the mop you use to swamp out the unit?;)
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Oh yeah... gross. At the clinic my coworkers started using a sponge to pre-clean speculums and such before we autoclaved them. There was no way in hell I was going to use that thing. Then it just sat in a cabinet waiting for the next use. Sure, it shined them up pretty nicely, but I'd like to see a culture off that thing.

I think we tend to focus on the "dirty" items all the time and don't realize what else is contaminated in the process of cleaning it up or what-not... like the mop, or your gloves. How many times have you seen people dig through a kit with "dirty" gloves or use a pen with gloves only to chew on that same pen later?
 
Veneficus raises a good point, and I'll add to it.

Sterility is not only a myth in EMS, it is not desireable overall. But filth is another matter.

I don't mean to sound like an Infection Control Nazi, I'm more being tongue i cheek in the title.

How about them boots?
 
mycrofft said:
PS: what about the mop you use to swamp out the unit?;)
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One of the hospitals we transport to, and happens to be the one I work at as my day job uses awesome mops.

They have pole, like any mop and they attach to the center of a pad, that has velcro on it... you simply pick up a fresh "pad" everytime you mop and discard it when you are done. It also can be used for side surfaces, etc...

Rapido Flat Mops .... Unique microfiber technology. Filmop has perfected microfiber technology to offer the unique Rapido microfiber mopping system. Holds more soil than conventional microfiber mop heads. Holds more soil than conventional microfiber mop heads. Exclusive long-looped design gets into grooves and pores. No foam makes it safe for healthcare use. Washable at up to 2100 F. Available in blue, white, yellow, green and red. Use wet, damp or dry.
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But, I agree... gross.
 
So it's like a fancy swiffer?
 
I read an article recently about doctors' lab coats being one of the main culprits in hospitals. A couple of studies found that an average hospital MD washes their coat perhaps once a week, sleep-deprived interns probably less. IIRC, one hospital banned them and saw a full 20-percent drop in hospital-acquired infections. With the prevalence of MRSA and other super-bugs, all facilities need to look at this. Either ban coats entirely, or have a "coat-exchange" program like you do for scrubs. We're going to such lengths as having disposable BP cuffs, why are dirty uniforms still OK?
 
reidnez said:
I read an article recently about doctors' lab coats being one of the main culprits in hospitals. A couple of studies found that an average hospital MD washes their coat perhaps once a week, sleep-deprived interns probably less. IIRC, one hospital banned them and saw a full 20-percent drop in hospital-acquired infections. With the prevalence of MRSA and other super-bugs, all facilities need to look at this. Either ban coats entirely, or have a "coat-exchange" program like you do for scrubs. We're going to such lengths as having disposable BP cuffs, why are dirty uniforms still OK?
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But if they had an exchange program, the MDs couldn't have such fancy names printed up on them :p
 
reidnez said:
I read an article recently about doctors' lab coats being one of the main culprits in hospitals. A couple of studies found that an average hospital MD washes their coat perhaps once a week, sleep-deprived interns probably less. IIRC, one hospital banned them and saw a full 20-percent drop in hospital-acquired infections. With the prevalence of MRSA and other super-bugs, all facilities need to look at this. Either ban coats entirely, or have a "coat-exchange" program like you do for scrubs. We're going to such lengths as having disposable BP cuffs, why are dirty uniforms still OK?
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How feasible is it to change scrubs/coats between every patient? You have to be realistic, there is always going to be something that spreads the ickies from one patient to another, you simply can't be completely germ free.

And I'm in the mind set that a completely germ free world promotes weak immune systems anyway (says the girl who is sick all the time. :P )
 
i'm torn. i always feel that up to my elbows is FILTHY when i'm at work. So i've been toying with the idea of buying some long sleeve shirts. But then i think about accidentally dragging my sleeves in stuff.

you all think long sleeves is clinically a bad habit to start?
 
Sasha said:
How feasible is it to change scrubs/coats between every patient? You have to be realistic, there is always going to be something that spreads the ickies from one patient to another, you simply can't be completely germ free.

And I'm in the mind set that a completely germ free world promotes weak immune systems anyway (says the girl who is sick all the time. :P )
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It doesn't have to be every patient--every shift would be a major improvement. If you can simply grab a fresh coat as you walk in the door, that's pretty easy. In fact, it's easier than having to wash them at home. Also, having a coat exchange program means that doctors would be more likely to change after possible infectious contacts, whereas now they are unlikely to change mid-shift unless there are significant fluids involved.

You're right about "over-sterility" being a major problem in general, as is over-prescription of antibiotics, but a hospital is not a home or an office. It's full of people with nasty contagious diseases, and other people with compromised immune systems. Not a good combo! Children with developing immune systems need to be exposed to benign microbes, NOT the immuno-compromised. Too many patients wind up sicker than when they came in, because of hospital-acquired bugs. You're not going to eliminate that completely, but if you can reduce it 10 or 20% with a very easy change, why wouldn't you?
 
Roger that.

Bugs are not created or mutated equal.

PS: I think that lab coat thing is baloney
 
8jimi8 said:
you all think long sleeves is clinically a bad habit to start?
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Meh... not necessarily a bad idea, but I do occasionally wash pretty far up my forearms when washing my hands. Can't do that easily with long sleeves.
 
Preparation of Fentanyl infusion in Japan


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n_2BbWbRk0[/YOUTUBE]
 
Our station has a mop for the ambulance, one for the bathroom, kitchen, hallway, and one for oil. We regularly change the heads of the mops.

For my watch, I leave it attatched to my PIC kit, a fanny pack with PPE and sanitizing gel that we're required to carry.
 
A referral

In the 1990's I worked with Dr. Rodney Ogrin, a Dentist. He has a good "eye" for innovation. I have no investment in his operations. I just happened to be on the phone with him today and what he's up to is relevant to this thread.

His company's website http://www.sprixx.com has very good free information on hand-sanitizing, its importance, and the devastating effects of its non-enforcement. He's got a great video up on the site: One of the presenters is Angelo Salvucci, MD, head of EMS for Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, CA. (Angelo was one of the first certified Emergency Physicians -- It didn't even become a specialty until 1979; a good 10 years after the paramedic program began and about 4 years after I got certified! He and I worked together.)

Of course there are products for sale as well but, having used what he's got, I think he's figured out a very practical and easy way to cover your personal hand-sanitizing in the field.
 
LucidResq said:
So it's like a fancy swiffer?
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It's not even all that fancy but it does allow you to carry a mop, without a dirty mop head... and it gets into corners, between the stretcher mounts, etc...

But yeah, like a swiffer :)
 
LucidResq said:
Meh... not necessarily a bad idea, but I do occasionally wash pretty far up my forearms when washing my hands. Can't do that easily with long sleeves.
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thats why i wanted to wear long sleeves, so that i don't have to wash up to my elbows.
 
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