{"id":649,"date":"2015-01-22T15:35:31","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T22:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brevis.com\/blog\/?p=649"},"modified":"2015-01-22T17:15:44","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T00:15:44","slug":"how-our-fear-mongering-ebolania-actually-spurred-more-focus-on-infection-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brevis.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/how-our-fear-mongering-ebolania-actually-spurred-more-focus-on-infection-control\/","title":{"rendered":"How fear-mongering over “Ebolanoia” helped improve infection control"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ebola<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEbolanoia”\u2014the unfounded hysteria over Ebola\u2014has swept over North America. Now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there\u2019s a flu epidemic raging in America<\/a>. Scary? The World Health Organization estimates that\u00a0about 250k\u00a0to 500k people worldwide die every year from influenza. Fortunately, doctors were\u00a0ready to fight what is a\u00a0common winter illness, despite the rise in cases. Beyond Ebola and influenza, there are still other emerging diseases of concern\u2014Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS),\u00a0pandemic flu, Marburg virus, dengue fever and Enterovirus D68. Health officials are monitoring these, but there is still good news.<\/p>\n

In 2014, we\u00a0saw some unprecedented changes\u00a0and\u00a0an increased focus on infection control in hospitals in the United States and around the globe. The CDC released a report this week<\/a> that shows hospitals in the U.S. have made progress in lowering the rates of infections for patients. Specifically, from 2008 to 2013, there was\u00a0a 46% decrease in infections caused by germs getting into the blood (when tubes aren\u2019t inserted into veins correctly). During that\u00a0same period, hospitals cut surgical site infections by 19% as well as catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 6%.<\/p>\n

CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement<\/a> to Time Magazine, \u201cHospitals have made real progress to reduce some types of healthcare-associated infections\u2014it can be done. The key is for every hospital to have rigorous infection control programs to protect patients and healthcare workers, and for health care facilities and others to work together to reduce the many types of infections that haven\u2019t decreased enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preventing infections saves lives\u2014and money!<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control<\/a> says preventing two of the most common healthcare-associated infections reduces the cost of patient care by more than $150,000. The cost of running an infection prevention program in the ICU is about $145,000.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ebola outbreak rages on in Africa.\u00a0Time\u00a0magazine even awarded the Ebola caregivers\u2014those who fight Ebola across the world, for their incredible selflessness\u2014as the Time Person of the Year<\/a>.\u00a0They write, “Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and \u2018us\u2019 means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Positive action around the globe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year, thanks to positive action in Ireland\u2014including campaigns exhorting handwashing and a more cautious use of antibiotics\u2014infection levels fell significantly. A proactive infection prevention plan implemented widely in a Hong Kong healthcare system also proved to be a significant factor preventing the spread of influenza strain A H7N9 (Avian flu) last year. You can find a detailed breakdown of five major infection control occurrences that affected U.S. hospitals this past year at Becker\u2019s Hospital Review<\/a>, too. And the list goes on.<\/p>\n

Patricia Stone, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the Center for Health Policy at Columbia University School of Nursing<\/a>\u00a0says,\u00a0\u201cThe Ebola outbreak is a reminder that we cannot afford to let our guard down or grow complacent.\u00a0Any death from preventable infections is one too many. We\u2019ve known for decades what works to prevent infections and save lives and now our study shows just how much money can be saved by investing in prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has your hospital, healthcare facility, school, or community implemented more training or action to prevent infections? Share your insights with us!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cEbolanoia”\u2014the unfounded hysteria over Ebola\u2014has swept over North America. Now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there\u2019s a flu epidemic raging in America. Scary? The World Health Organization estimates that\u00a0about 250k\u00a0to 500k people worldwide die every year from influenza. Fortunately, doctors were\u00a0ready to fight what is a\u00a0common winter illness, despite the rise in cases. … Continue reading How fear-mongering over “Ebolanoia” helped improve infection control<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,75],"tags":[17,76,60,77,79,61,78,48],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ebola-outbreak","category-infection-prevention","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-ebola","tag-ebola-virus","tag-ebolanoia","tag-flu-epidemic","tag-improved-safety-protocols","tag-infection-prevention-2","tag-saralynn-white"],"yoast_head":"\nHow fear-mongering over "Ebolanoia" helped improve infection control<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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