Legionella: A Manageable Risk for Health Systems w/ Dave Purkiss and Joseph Cotruvo
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
Release Date: 11/04/2019
Empowering and Engaging the Everyday Cleaner with John LaRochelle
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
In this episode, we talk with John LaRochelle, a long-standing contributor and board member at TIPS, and President of . To gain a deeper understanding of John's impact, I turned to Michael Diamond, who succinctly framed John's journey: 'John has dedicated his career to uplifting those in the least paid positions. His advocacy and development of technologies and programs have not only enhanced environmental cleaning but also empowered and elevated the cleaners themselves.' John's life and career are fundamentally about empowering and engaging the everyday cleaner. During our discussion,...
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The Science Behind Long Lasting Surface Disinfection with Jay Denktash and Amit Sehgal
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
The cleaning industry has long been focused on the concept of contact time. But what happens between cleanings? This question grows increasingly pertinent as we navigate both labor shortages and heightened expectations of cleanliness and safety from customers, guests, and patients. A potential part of the solution lies in long-lasting disinfection technology. In this episode, we talk with Jay Denktash and Amit Sehgal from about the science underpinning long-lasting surface disinfection. This concept isn't new. Scientists have been exploring it since the late 1990s, achieving some success. The...
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Operationalizing Environmental Regulation in Healthcare w/ Shari Solomon
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we're joined by Shari Solomon, the President of , and a TIPS Advisory Council member. Shari's journey in the world of environmental policy and law began with a deep-seated interest in environmental matters. Her desire to influence and effect change led her to study law, which subsequently led her to Capitol Hill, where she dedicated her time to shaping environmental policies. During this period, Shari's fascination with Indoor Air Quality took root, specifically focusing on infection risks posed by microorganisms in the air, such as mold. Driven by the urge to have a more...
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Helping People Breathe Healthier Indoor Air with Dr. John McKeon
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
As an emergency room doctor, John McKeon often recommended allergy and asthma-friendly products to his patients. One patient’s mother, while trying to take in all the details, told him it would be so nice if someone would just put a label on these products so that she could know which ones met his specs. That single comment was enough to ignite the latent entrepreneurial tendencies that John had always had. Now, John is the CEO of , a company on a mission to help people breathe healthier indoor air. John and his team do this through science (ASL Standards), education (iAIR Academy), and...
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How To Make Engaging Online Content with Michael Justason
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Michael Justason from McMaster University and the about online communication. Specifically, we talk about how to do it better. Michael has been teaching in person and online for years and he’s learned some tricks that he says, in some ways, have made him more effective online than in person. Now this was a surprise even to him, and he’s going to explain. Overall, our goal is to share with you these tricks, plus some tools, that Michael has found along the way. We’ll cover a few basic things you can do with lighting, sound, positioning, etc. that will apply...
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A Practical Approach to Sustainability with Dan Mueller and Malachy McGlynn
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode we talk with: Dan Mueller, TIPS Advisory Board Member and Senior Vice President, N. American Sales at Kersia Malachy McGlynn, Head of Operations for Healthcare at Kersia Dan and Malachy help us to understand what sustainability really means in the business context and beyond. It’s a nuanced discussion that covers: How Kersia approaches sustainability for their own business operations What problems Kersia is trying to solve How they identified and prioritized potential solutions How they measure and report on the efficacy of their internal sustainability initiatives What...
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Cleaning Industry Trends for 2023 with CleanLink
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode we talk with: Wendy Dietzler, Senior Director of Events and Education for , which produces industry-leading events for facilities, cleaning, and freight rail industries, including the National Facilities Management & Technology Conference, CleanLink Summit, and RailTrends. Corinne Zudonyi, editor-in-chief of Contracting Profits, Sanitary Maintenance, and Facility Cleaning Decisions magazines. as well as the online resource, . Wendy and Corinne are going to break down the Cleaning Industry Trends you need to know for 2023 in areas such as: Infection control...
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Expanding the Scope of Service at the Community Pharmacy with Hector Bremner
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Hector Bremner. Hector is CEO of which is a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward. For example, its flagship offering ™ gives community pharmacies a turn-key solution for rapid testing. The reason they’re doing this is because the scope of services being offered by pharmacies is increasing rapidly. And that’s happening because our sick-care system, where we wait for folks to develop diseases and then treat them, is becoming unsustainable. It’s too expensive, we...
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Putting a Face on Clinical Laboratory Sciences w/ Dr. Rodney Rohde
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
There is a critical shortage of Clinical Laboratory Scientists across the U.S. According to today’s guest, there’s a nationwide gap of roughly 40% and it’s creating a national healthcare crisis that the public doesn’t quite grasp. On this episode we talk with Dr. Rodney Rohde, a Regents’ Professor at Texas State University, and the University Distinguished Chair and Professor for ). Dr. Rhode helps us better understand what a Clinical Laboratory Scientist does, why they are so critical to healthcare delivery, and why it’s so important to raise awareness of the profession, as well...
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The Future of Hand Washing with Max Simonovsky
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Max Simonovsky, Founder & CEO of . Max founded Soapy after an interaction with his young child regarding handwashing. It got him thinking about how environmental triggers and our perceptions of them can impact our behaviors. He followed that thread, and it became Soapy. Soapy's hand-washing technology educates, validates, and modifies behavior. In the field, Soapy technology has been used to increase hand-wash adherence by up to 98%. Adherence paired with proper technique, which Soapy also teaches, has a chance to significantly reduce hospital-associated...
info_outlineLegionellosis accounts for thousands of hospital admissions and many deaths. It has a 10% mortality rate for those infected and that rate goes up as high as 25% in a healthcare setting.
The good news is, it’s controllable. In fact, it’s largely an engineering problem that has known, low-tech controls.
Given the prevalence of the issue, the high mortality rate and increased risk in healthcare settings (especially in LTC), CMS now says that Hospitals must develop water management policies to prevent Legionnaires’ disease. They’re calling for hospitals to do a risk assessment, implement a water management program and specify testing protocols. The approach sounds like it would be in line with that of a good HIPAA or cyber-security program. That is, you must build a culture of control and manage the issue for the long haul.
On this episode, Dave Purkiss and Joseph Cotruvo tell you what Legionella is, how it can be controlled and why health systems should prioritize the issue. Most importantly, they’ll tell you about the standards, tools, and approaches that’ll help you implement a sound water management program, keep your patients safe, and avoid a non-compliance citation from CMS.
On this episode you’ll learn:
- What is Legionella?
- Why was it largely unknown prior to 1976?
- Why does Legionellosis have such a high mortality rate?
- Can we control the issue and prevent outbreaks?
- What is the CDC doing to track outbreaks and promote the appropriate measures to control it?
- How much of a problem is Legionella for U.S. Hospitals?
- Are Hospital leaders aware of the issue?
- Why are Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities at greater risk?
- Are healthcare leaders aware of the tools that exist to properly manage water systems and control Legionella?
- When did CMS begin to regulate the issue?
- How does CMS validate that the health systems are properly managing their water systems?
- Why should a healthcare organization prioritize this issue?
- What advice would you give a health system leader for getting started with a water management program?
- How can health systems use tools like the NSF 444 standard and ASHRAE 188 to guide them?
- Is there a potential for a CMS audit and are there any financial penalties involved?
- The Legionella 2018 conference: Who’s it for? What you’ll learn? What are the goals of the conference?
- How does a good water systems control program relate to a HIPAA program or a cybersecurity program?
This episode originally aired on The #HCBiz Show on February 21, 2018.