Monday
April 26, 2021
1:30-2:30pm |
Public Health Initiatives to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections and How You Can Get Involved!
According to the CDC, "one in 25 patients acquire a healthcare associated infection" leading to millions of preventable deaths each year, (CDC, 2021). Annually billions of dollars are associated with HAI's and contribute to the rising costs of healthcare that continue to push inequities further making access to healthcare increasingly difficult. This presentation will provide a basic overview of current public health initiatives designed to reduce healthcare associated infections. We will look at a few examples of high-level governmental programs that are in place at the federal, state, and local levels to facilitate change. You'll also be introduced to several professional organizations and grass-roots initiatives whose mission is to raise awareness and reduce harm. Regardless of your role in healthcare, infection prevention is everyone's responsibility and all the little choices we make every day really do make a big difference. You will learn ways to get involved both from the front-line as well as how to plug into the movement of patient advocacy against HAI's .
|
| |
|
Lisa McKown graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Leadership and an MBA from Anderson University. She is a doctoral student in the Richard Fairbanks School of Public Health: Global Health Leadership program through IUPUI in Indianapolis, IN. Lisa is an industry contributor for the advancement of the Sterile Processing profession. Her areas of focus include research, writing and projects that improve education and process improvement. |
|
Tuesday
April 27, 2021
1:30-2:30pm |
Contagious Surfaces - Sorting Facts from Fiction
We understand. You keep hearing conflicting guidance about surfaces. Can I get sick from touching my home delivery boxes? What about a shopping cart? Or my patient’s bed rail? Some surfaces pose a greater risk of harboring pathogens than others and sometimes it’s tough to sort the facts from fiction. Peer reviewed studies have shown that high-touch surfaces are not being sufficiently disinfected, leaving harmful pathogens behind. The task is too much to tackle using traditional, manual cleaning methods. As a result, more and more healthcare facilities are turning to UV no-touch disinfection devices. Our presentation will focus on recent research covering pathogen transmission risk from surfaces, and how UV disinfection can be used to enhance environmental cleaning.
|
| |
|
Katie Velasquez is a medical laboratory scientist certified by the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Her primary professional goal is to promote prevention infection and better patient well-being. As the Laboratory Manager for Xenex, Katie works closely with Xenex’s epidemiologists on a variety of microbiology projects related to new product development and scientific evaluations.
Prior to Xenex, Katie worked at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist where she provided sample preparation and interpretation for various departments including hematology, chemistry, immunology, coagulation, urology, and oncology.
Katie earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and is currently pursuing her M.S. degree in epidemiology. She recently co-authored a book chapter on the role of ultraviolet disinfection in the prevention of surgical site infections |
|
Wednesday
April 28, 2021
1:30-2:30pm |
Accrediting Organization 2021 Expectations
|
| |
 Sylvia Garcia-Houchins is the Director, Infection Prevention and Control and an Ambulatory Surveyor for The Joint Commission. Ms. Garcia-Houchins has over 30 years of experience in infection control in both hospital, health clinics, ambulatory surgery, endoscopy, dialysis and long term care settings. In addition to eight years of clinical microbiology experience, Sylvia is a registered nurse. |
|
Tarin English joined AAAHC in May 2008 and, in her tenure, has served in many roles within the organization. She currently serves as Director, CMS & State Compliance, having primary responsibility for ensuring AAAHC’s compliance with federal and state‐specific regulatory requirements, including overseeing the AAAHC Medicare Deemed Status program. Tarin holds a B.A. in English from Illinois State University. |
|
Thursday
April 29, 2021
1:30-2:30pm |
CoVid In The Courtroom
This program will equip participants to identify causes of IC & CoVid lawsuits and implement measures to prevent these occurrences. Especially in light of the CoVid pandemic, ASC’s face litigation for violating infection control protocols in their daily practices. This program will equip participants to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate compliance with the appropriate standards of care.
|
| |
|
Mr. Bays has served in numerous capacities in the healthcare industry ranging from clinical services and operations, healthcare bill & policy analysis, medical- legal consulting for healthcare attorney groups and oversight of accreditation, licensure and regulatory compliance programs. |
|
Friday
April 30, 2021
1:30-2:30pm |
What We Do Now in Our ASC
|
Subject to Change
