Thursday, May 1, 2008
For the Attention of
Hospital CEOs, Board Chairs, OHA Board of Directors, Directors of Patient Safety/Quality, Directors of Infection Control, and CACN Members
Tom Closson
President and CEO
Update on Infection Prevention and Control Initiatives
In light of recent media reports about the outbreak of infections and “superbugs” in Ontario hospitals, as well in response to the Ontario Coalition of Hospital Unions (OCHU) media campaign to raise awareness of the issues, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on some of the initiatives the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) is undertaking and supporting to help promote infection prevention and control in hospitals. As you know, patient safety and quality improvements are top priorities for the OHA, and we are committed to ensuring Ontario hospitals receive the education and training they need to continue providing the safest and highest quality of care to patients.
The Just Clean Your Hands Program
The OHA is currently partnering with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to deliver education sessions on the components of a program called, Just Clean Your Hands. The Just Clean Your Hands program was developed by the MOHLTC with collaborative input from provincial, national and global experts to develop an evidence-based, multi-faceted hand hygiene program to support hand hygiene improvement in hospitals. This program was launched in March 2008, with 14 regional educational sessions being offered to all hospitals, with over 95% of hospitals participating.
In addition, as part of the Just Clean Your Hands program, the OHA has been funded by the MOHLTC to develop patient education material regarding the transmission of health care-associated infections. These tips will be launched in the fall of 2008 and build on the success of the OHA’s Your Health Care – Be Involved campaign. For more information about the Just Clean Your Hands program, please go to www.oha.com/justcleanyourhands.
OHA Educational Conferences
The OHA hosts a number of conferences each year on patient safety and quality. Currently, the OHA is working with provincial and national experts to deliver a conference with a focus on sharing best practices and lessons learned in infection prevention and control, with an emphasis on hospital-acquired infections. The conference is tentatively scheduled for early fall 2008.
Supporting and Raising Awareness of MOHLTC Initiatives
The OHA also continues to support the MOHLTC on a variety of infection prevention and control initiatives by participating on the Steering Committee for the Infection Prevention and Control Core Competency Educational (IPCCCE) program and promoting use of the IPCCCE modules developed for acute care hospitals, and the Provincial Infectious Disease Advisory Committee (PIDAC) Best Practices documents to hospitals.
With respect to the OCHU’s media campaign, the OHA will continue to monitor the union’s activities and provide any updates as needed.
If you have any questions about our patient safety efforts around infection prevention and control initiatives, please contact Karen Sequeira, Consultant, Patient Safety and Clinical Best Practice by email at ksequeira@oha.com or phone at 416-205-1328.