JCAHO Update for Infection Control
JCAHO slates national infection control conference
High profile emphasis may translate to program resources
With hospital administrators a key target audience, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has slated a national infection control conference that will emphasize the importance of adequately funding an increasingly important program.
"Infection control is a top priority at the Joint Commission," says Charlene Hill, Joint Commission spokeswoman.
JCAHO’s National Conference on Infection Control: Rethinking the Approach to Nosocomial Infections, Bioterrorism and Emerging Pathogens is slated for Nov. 17-18, 2003, in Chicago.
"The reason for the conference stems from our concern about infection control in organizations — whether organizations are really prepared," says Julie L. Hopkins, executive director of education at Joint Commission Resources, a JCAHO affiliate. "As we have seen with SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome], you can have something come up unexpectedly and it can really cripple the health care system."
There will be some discussion of the Joint Commission’s proposed new 2004 and 2005 infection control standards, but that area will receive more emphasis during a special half-day post-conference, she said. Thus, the conference will not focus so much on accreditation and compliance as the importance of infection control programs in an era of emerging infections and bioterrorism.
"Our focus will start out globally, then go to more of a national and regional level and then down to the organizational level," Hopkins says. "And in those different arenas, we will look at the situation with emerging pathogens and the potential for bioterrorism incidents. As we get more to the organizational level, we will be looking at reduction of nosocomial infections."
In addition to infection control professionals and hospital epidemiologists, the target audience includes top health care administrators, she says.
"We are encouraging CEOs and the CFOs to attend because we are looking at the allocation of resources," Hopkins says.
Indeed, infection control experts have argued for years that institutional investments in ICP programs translate to huge savings because prevention has always been cheaper than treatment. The latest example is SARS, with Canadian experts specifically noting that underfunded infection control programs contributed to the prolonged outbreak in Toronto.
"The Joint Commission’s audience are the CEOs and managers — the folks that make the big-bucks decisions," says William Scheckler, epidemiologist at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. A scheduled speaker at the conference, he previously chaired a panel that outlined the resources and infrastructure needs of a modern infection control program.1
The Joint Commission’s increasing focus on infection control may finally result in full funding for some of the panel’s recommendations, which included a call for adequate staffing and supporting resources for hospital infection control programs.
The Joint Commission conference continues a flurry of infection control developments at JCAHO, which is taking an increasingly serious view of the field and its practitioners. In that regard, one of the Joint Commission’s 2004 Patient Safety Goals is reducing health care-acquired infections. To do that, JCAHO urges all facilities to comply with hand hygiene guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition, institutions should manage as sentinel events all identified cases of unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function associated with a health care-acquired infection. The Joint Commission also has drafted prescriptive new infection control standards for 2005 and put the field at the top of the list for surprise inspections next year.
In addition to hospitals, the upcoming JCAHO conference will address infection control in ambulatory care, home care, and long-term care organizations. Conference topics include:
JCAHO’s proposed new infection control standards and 2004 National Patient Safety Goals.
- Redefining the roles and skills of infection control professionals.
- Pros and cons of data-driven surveillance.
- How effective infection control programs influence the bottom line.
- Preparedness for bioterrorism, pandemics, and emerging pathogens.
- Lessons learned from SARS, HIV/AIDS, and West Nile virus.
[The registration fee for JCAHO’s national conference on infection control is $545. For more information or to register, call JCR customer service toll-free at (877) 223-6866, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, weekdays.]
Reference
1. Scheckler WE, Brimhall D, Buck AS, et al. Requirements for infrastructure and essential activities of infection control and epidemiology in hospitals: A consensus panel report. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1999; 19:114-126.
With hospital administrators a key target audience, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has slated a national infection control conference that will emphasize the importance of adequately funding an increasingly important program.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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