Conference Chair
Kelly Pyrek
Editor-in-Chief ICT magazine
Tuesday,
February 10, 2009
Time
Event
10 a.m. EST (7 a.m. PST)
The Evolving Role of the Infection Preventionist
The practice of infection prevention and control is being impacted by a number of trends, including new mandatory reporting legislation, new pay-for-performance regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and an increased focus on quality improvement. Pressure from healthcare consumers and watchdog groups, the economy, emerging pathogens and so much more is complicating practitioners’ daily work. Infection preventionists are expected by their healthcare systems to engage in ever-increasing roles and responsibilities outside of traditional infection control practice, including performance improvement, occupational health, and bioterrorism and disaster planning. This session will help attendees understand the new scope of infection preventionists’ jobs and suggest helpful ways to juggle it all without losing one’s sanity.
Doing More With Less: Asset Management in Infection Prevention
Numerous studies from the medical literature indicate that infection prevention and control managers are performing their duties with less-than-ideal staffing ratios and lackluster budgets and resources. With more to do than ever before, infection preventionists must know how to maximize their current employees and department resources while still working with their limited budgets. This session will help attendees understand the need for smart asset management and what specific steps can be taken to concurrently enhance job performance.
Making the Business Case for Infection Prevention
Making the business case for infection prevention and control to hospital administrators and other stakeholders in the healthcare system is an imperative for infection preventionists these days, yet too many practitioners are unsure how to perform this critical task. There is increased pressure to establish cost-effective services – supported by evidence-based interventions -- in healthcare, however, the process to determine such cost estimates relating to healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) is fraught with challenges. This session will help attendees understand the economics associated with HAIs, and how to formulate a strategy for making a successful business case for infection prevention and control at your facility.
Teaching Tips for Infection Prevention Compliance
A “teachable moment” relating to infection prevention and control can happen anywhere and at any time in the hospital or healthcare system, so infection preventionists should be aware of all of the unique opportunities that can foster a dialogue about infection control best practices with every level of healthcare provider in every clinical and non-clinical arena. This session will help attendees identify and understand the barriers to learning in the hospital environment and how to best reach the adult learner, especially across generation gaps and other obstacles.
Infection Prevention Imperatives in a New World Order
Mandatory public reporting of infections. New pay-for-performance regulations. Zero tolerance initiatives. It’s a brave new world for infection prevention and control! It’s not enough to simply understand infection prevention and control theory, it’s now essential to excel in practice and compliance. This session will help attendees make sense of the myriad new demands placed on today’s infection prevention and control program from both the public and the private sector, and how to ensure that your program incorporates the latest thought and practice emerging from the field.
Infection Prevention Leads the Way in the Quality and Patient Safety Movement
(QI) is the healthcare industry’s latest buzzword, but what does it really mean, and how can it help your facility improve patient outcomes and avoid adverse events and hospital-acquired infections? This session will help attendees understand QI principles and how to incorporate them into infection prevention practice to enhance your department’s performance.
Speaker: Barbara DeBaun, Beacon (Bay Area Patient Safety Collaborative)
2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST)
Making Friends and Influencing People: Cultivating Stakeholders
for Infection Prevention Success
Have you cultivated infection prevention and control champions in your hospital or healthcare system? Do you know who to turn to for vital help or information, whether it’s clinical lab report data interpretation, or surveillance and outbreak investigation assistance? This session will help attendees understand why cultivating champions and stakeholders is critical to the infection prevention mission, and outline specific ways to get crucial advocates on your side when you need them most.
Training the Trainer: Strategies for ICPs’ Educational
Enrichment
You ensure that your facility’s healthcare providers receive the in-service hours they need, right? So why are you neglecting your own need for education and professional development? This session will help attendees realize the importance of enhancing their own skill sets so that they can perform more effectively, and challenge them to attain increased education and certification status as they grow as infection preventionists and advance in their careers.
