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Nearly 125 nursing home employees took the opportunity to learn more about sepsis, Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) and Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) during a series of learning sessions offered in August and September. The Wizard of Oz production was the theme of the day.

These trainings, offered by Great Plains QIN – Nebraska, were held in Gering, Lexington, Lincoln and Norfolk.

Why is infection prevention important for long-term care residents??

When people are living closely together, they are more likely to become sick with infections that are transmitted from person to person. Also, residents in long-term care facilities may have open wounds, devices, such as urinary catheters or intravenous catheters, or be incontinent of urine or stool, it is especially important for the staff, visitors and other patients to practice good infection prevention and control techniques.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 to 3 million serious infections occur in nursing homes and assisted living facilities every year. Infections are a major cause of hospitalization and death; as many as 380,000 people die of the infections in long-term care facilities every year.

Sepsis, MDROs and CDI….Oh My!

During this half-day training, attendees learned strategies and shared best practices to instill infection prevention and control practices to promote a safe environment and improve resident quality of life.

Krystal Hays, DNP, RN, RAC-CT; Quality Improvement Advisor with the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network, focused on the impact of infections, the importance of infection prevention with a focus on the identification and prevention of sepsis. The presentation was titled, We are Off the See the Wizard.

“It was exciting to be part of the Sepsis, MDRO’s, CDI OH My! event in August and September at all four Nebraska locations. Bringing these face-to-face learning sessions to those providing care is so valued and important to these providers.  Krystal’s presentation on Sepsis and MDRO’s in Nebraska highlighted the need to educate community partners on early identification and treatment of sepsis,” stated Tammy Baumann, RN, LSSGB; Great Plains QIN Quality Improvement Advisor.

In her presentation, There Is No Place Like Home, Kristi Felix, BSN, RN, CRRN, CIC; Infection Prevention Coordinator with Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, shared infection prevention strategies, best practices, tools and resources to promote environmental safety while creating a homelike environment in the nursing home. Felix also demonstrated ways to implement change resulting in enhanced quality improvement and patient outcomes.

“Kristi identified how nursing homes can promote a safe and homelike environment while providing quality of life for residents with MDRO’s and CDI,” added Baumann.

Attendee Comments: Attendees offered feedback on ideas/strategies they will utilize to improve care in their homes (as a result of the training).

“We plan to visit with our physicians about the importance of not always starting someone on an antibiotic right away for a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). We plan to educate staff about the need to monitor before automatically calling for a urinary analysis.”

“We will be implementing antibiotic stewardship education for all of our team members.”

“I plan on doing a lot to make improvements in our home, but first, I am going to work on getting new hand sanitizer equipment and placing them in more areas for better access for floor staff.”

“With sepsis as the number one diagnosis for readmission to the hospital for Medicare beneficiaries in Nebraska, this learning session provided nursing home staff with tools and resources to identify sepsis in the nursing home setting and education material for residents and families.  It is critical that sepsis is recognized early in any healthcare or community setting to save lives and reduce the devastating effects of this life-threatening condition, added Hays.

Click here to access the presentation materials from the Nebraska learning sessions.