Community Q&A Blog

Long Hair and SSIs: Any Connection?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:24:08 PDT

An ICT reader asks, "Are there any standards addressing whether nurses with long hair should have it secured away from the face and from hanging over the patient when providing care? Does the possibility of long hair dropping onto the patient in pre-operative and post-operative areas increase the possibility of surgical site infection? I have several nurses in my facility ...

Labeling Disposable Equipment

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:05:17 PDT

An ICT reader asks, “Is there a standard way to label disposable equipment for changing? In the hospital I work in, the RTs and Rns mean different things if they label a resuscitation bag, nebulizer, IV tubing, etc. I find delta sign followed by date to mean different things to different professions, and some simply put a date, and think ...

Teaching Hand Hygiene at Psych Hospitals

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:24:59 PDT

An ICT reader from Pennsylvania has the following question for other infection preventionists at psychiatric hospitals: “Does anyone have any strategies to convince the staff about the importance of teaching patients hand hygiene? I have limited time on the floor with patients, but aides are with them every day. They need to strongly encourage patients to wash their hands after ...