Varidyn

Are you affected by the Baxter Disposable #BloodPressureCuff constraint? Here's your path forward: ... Priority one: try to find other available cuffs. But we know from #COVID that this won't work for long. Priority Two: figure out your "Days of Product on Hand" metric and your consumption rate. If it's less than a few months, start conserving these NOW. Here's how... The IFU of the Baxter Disposable cuff says there are only two things you can use: ☣️ Enzymatic cleaner ☣️ 0.5% bleach. #InfectionPrevention will tell you only one of those disinfects! We have tablets and a wipe kit that will work really well for this. The tablets work like bleach but with a bit less odor and better safety profile (it's still sporicidal chlorine). Two tablets in a quart of water and you have your solution. The notice Baxter sent out to customers said: - "the term 'disposable' in reference to blood pressure cuffs is a model designator only and not meant to imply single patient use." - "We encourage you to implement a cleaning protocol on your blood pressure cuffs ". The disposable blood pressure cuffs have been tested to 150 uses. We recommend reusing these for one to two weeks (depending on patient load) & disinfecting them between patients. Send a message to us for any of the following: 💥 A link to their instructions for use. 💥 A copy of the letter they sent out. 💥 Some disinfectant / dry wipes / canister 💥 Any other support Varidyn is here for you 💪

#Friends ...What do #coffee and hand hygiene have in common?... Yes, you read that right! Hear us out!... It sounds like the beginning of a joke, so we'll avoid disappointing you by posting a joke at the end... But we were genuinely wondering if there's any commonalities between a couple of the products for which we're known! Maybe we're having too much fun for a Monday 😄 Here's what we came up with... ☕ COFFEE and Hand Hygiene 1. Both require careful attention to cleanliness. Coffee prep requires hygienic practices and #HandHygiene needs to be performed hygienically (interlacing fingers, focusing on fingernails, etc) 2. Proper Technique - Both require just the right amount of product. Too much coffee grounds or too much #HandSanitizer is disasterous. And too LITTLE of either is quite ineffective ☠ What other commonalities can you think of? Comment below! And we promised you a #joke: Why DIDN'T the coffee complain when he saw a clinician perform poor hand hygiene? He couldn't espresso himself. Hey we never said it'd be a #FUNNY joke. 😂 Keep the conversation going! ⬇ 👇 -V

#EVS #Managers... You're tired at the end of your shift. Between people, policies, cleaners, and getting your steps in... We see you! We source products to make EVS jobs a little easier. But if you need a question answered, send us a message. We're happy to converse with our friends in the field! -V #infectioncontrol

7 to 7. Day shift is difficult enough... but hats off to the hospital staff getting ready to work a 12 tonight... We are constantly in awe of #EVS #Nursing #InfectionControl and other professionals who make a hospital run 24-7. We try to do our part to help... whether it's giving away free coffee... ...providing original literature to help with tasks... ... or even just creating crossword puzzles on our social media. Let us know how we can partner together. Whether for 5 minutes for a quick question... or a lifetime of support, we like to help. Have a great shift! -Varidyn

It's a coffee-and-headlines kind of Monday afternoon... We have #InfectionPrevention on the brain as we're reading some good news from the #CDC ... "CDC continues to expect the fall and winter respiratory disease season will likely have a similar or lower number of combined peak hospitalizations due to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV compared to last season" We like to think that between our Patient Privacy Curtains, #Disinfectants, #HandHygiene dispensers, and No-Jerm dividers, were playing a role in preventing the spread. Give us an applause reaction if you got coffee from our booth recently and are craving more! -V #EVS #Healthcare

#Facilities leaders! You create healing environments while prioritizing safety. How are you maintaining your water features?... Share your experiences with any #fountains or #WaterWalls you may have! The "Green Kleen" dichlor tablets are one tool we use to streamline maintenance processes. We recommend dichlor for hospital water features because: 🔷 It's stabilized chlorine for longer-lasting protection 🔷 Fast-dissolving granules leave no residue 🔷 Easy! Plop in a tablet or two and walk away 🔷Powerful sanitizing action destroys Legionella bacteria 🔷Calcium-free formula prevents scaling Interested? We can help calculate volume, PPM, quantity, and create a schedule so you literally can just "plop" and walk away regularly. Just reach out & message anytime! -Varidyn #InfectionPrevention #infectioncontrol #SupplyChain

Answer to Tuesday's Test Question on #Causation... Answer: A. Rationale: Causal associations exist when evidence indicates that one factor is clearly shown to increase the probability of the occurrence of a disease. In a causal relationship, the reduction or diminution of a factor decreases the frequency of the disease being studied. Strength of association is the first criterion: The incidence of disease should be higher in those who are exposed to the factor under consideration than in those who are not exposed. In other words: the stronger the association between an exposure and a disease, the more likely the exposure is to be causal. The odds ratio is a statistical measure that gives us an indication of how strongly the risk factor is associated with the disease outcome.   Reference: APIC Text, 4th edition, Chapter 10 – General Principles of Epidemiology How did you do?

Last week we dropped some wisdom on #HandHygiene dispensers from the ADA. Now here's some from ASHE... The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) gives guidance on infrastructure in healthcare settings. Their guidance on dispensers is that it should be noticeable, accessible,and distinguished from soap dispensers. You can see the picture for more... We give our hand hygiene dispenser placement guide to #Facilities, #infectionprevention #EVS and other leaders. Want a copy? Send a message! We're here for you. -Varidyn

As we continue #IIPW celebrations, we came up with another #TestQuestion to help you study - have a look!... From Hill’s Criteria for #Causation, what would be the best example of “Strength of the Association” among the choices below? a. In a study of the association between dirty environmental surfaces and development of C.auris infection, the odds ratio was 2:3.   b. In a study of the association between dirty environmental surfaces and development of C.auris infection, the authors’ conclusions are consistent with those of three other studies.   c. In a study of the association between dirty environmental surfaces and development of C.auris infection, a change in environmental disinfection began an average of 3 days before C. auris infection developed.   d. In a study of the association between dirty environmental surfaces and development of C.auris infection, poorly-disinfected surfaces were a greater risk factor for C. auris infection than contaminated privacy curtains. As an #InfectionPreventionist, getting certified shows competency and commitment to your career - and we're doing our part to help - make sure you're subscribed to our page! We will post the answer in 48 hours (Thursday). -Varidyn

Let's play "Good/Better" with #PatientPrivacyCurtains... GOOD: - #Disposable for improved infection control BETTER: - #Recyclable for environmental stewardship and recouping costs GOOD: #Changeable without hooks or loops that fall off BETTER: #Quick-change systems for fast, easy replacement without ladders GOOD: Made with less material to preserve landfills BETTER: #Biodegradable curtains to reduce environmental impact GOOD: Made with non-woven #polypropylene (plastic) so they can be wiped with disinfectant if you can't get to changing them right away BETTER: The plastic is impregnated with #bacteriostatic material that prevents germs from replicating on the material What are some other items you'd add? And remember that if you need help with ANYTHING #CubicleCurtains -related, we are here for you! Just send a message our way! -V