1960s – Programs were instituted in the US, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) urged surveillance be conducted in hospitals
1968 – American Hosp. Assoc. published Infection Control in the Hospital
1970 – CDC instituted National Nosocomial Infections Study (NNIS)
1972 – Assoc for Practitioners in Infection Control (APIC) established early 1970s Training Program established at CDC
1974 – Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC). Showed that infections arose from Blood stream, surgical, respiratory, urinary tract
1980 – Society of Healthcare Epidemiologists of America (SHEA) formed
1981 – Certification Board for Infection Control established
1991 – Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) created
Overall Structure and function of Infection Control (IC) Department
IC Professionals
Epidemiologist
IC Committee
Infection Surveillance
Outbreak Management: prevent outbreaks of say MRSA,chickenpox, RSV, resistant bacteria
Performance Improvement- Influence of practice, tuberculosis carepath
Policy development
Issues in Infection Control
Isolation systems
handwashing
clean, disinfection (killing of organism), sterilization, antisepsis
Occupational Health Issues
Management of exposures to infectious diseases
vaccination and periodic testing (eg. PPD skin tests)
Support services
Facilities management: interacts with different trades such as HVAC, maintenance
Construction issues: interior andextreior construction issues and their effects on patients (aspergillus spread)
Infectious waste management issues: starts at bedside!! Handwashing remains the single most imortant action anyone can perform to prevent transmission of infectious organisms
Other agencies and their focus on Infection Control
Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA): provedes certification and participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs
Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Blood borne Pathogen Standard
Proposed OSHA Tuberculosis Standard: negative pressure rooms that are exhausted directly to the outside