Provincial Surveillance Program

With the final draft completed, the first province-wide CDI report is undergoing a thorough review process to make sure all stakeholders have an opportunity for input before the report is made public. While this process has taken longer than anticipated we are thrilled by the positive response from many divisions towards having a system like this in place.

Work on the next Surveillance Program project is already underway. The first meeting to discuss the MRSA Surveillance System was held on September 25, 2009. We welcome back much of the same team who generously volunteered on the CDI Surveillance System and look forward to input from some of our new team members.

The provincial Surveillance Program is a collaborative effort between all five regional Health Authorities as well as PHSA, Providence Health Care and other affiliates. Once released, the CDI report will be posted on our website at www.picnetbc.ca.

Surgical Site Infection E-Module

Due to H1N1 and workload issues, work on the surgical site infection prevention educational module has been delayed. However, Beta testing still is the next step in the process and is anticipated to begin in the coming weeks.

Long Term Care Needs Assessment

The Long Term Care Needs Assessment on-line survey will allow Health Authorities to identify areas of need for infection prevention and control resources and provide the ability to develop an accurate business case towards attaining additional funding for the development of infection prevention and control programs in long term care settings.

The survey was launched in July but with more of our target audience back in the office after summer holidays we had a much better response this September. The next steps include analysis of the survey once all the information has been compiled.

GI Outbreak Guidelines

This Working Group is working towards developing a set of provincial guidelines for GI Outbreaks in BC. These guidelines are intended to provide guidance to all health care settings when developing or updating policies and processes that pertain to the prevention, surveillance for, identification and control of gastrointestinal outbreaks. The group is presently reviewing the current guidelines development process and a new evidence critical appraisal tool developed by the PHAC.

New Projects

Following the Advisory Committee meeting, PICNet has been tasked to take on two new projects. At the appropriate time PICNet will be moving forward with facilitating the creation of a guideline document for the management of health care workers exposed to Measles and Rubella as well as the development of a CDI toolkit to be used as a province-wide resource in prevention of Clostridium difficile infections.

2009 Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) Forum

Providence Health Care and the BC Association of Medical Microbiologists are presenting the 2009 Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) Forum on October 30, 2009 at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC.

This year’s keynote speaker in Professor Mark Wilcox, a Consultant Microbiologist, Head of Microbiology, and Clinical Director of Pathology, at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of Leeds, and lead on Clostridium difficile infection for the Health Protection Agency Regional Microbiology Network in England.

There is no registration fee required but you must register by October 20, 2009.

Visit www.cdad2009.com. 

Project Proposals and Education Resource Funds for Next Year

While we accept project proposals throughout the entire year, the deadline for proposals to be considered for next fiscal year is December 31, 2009. Previously submitted project proposals must be resubmitted in order to be considered for the next fiscal year.

If you are interested in applying for the Education Resource fund grant the deadline is March 31, 2010, but now is a great time to get a head start on your application. Members of PICNet’s community of practice may apply to receive up to $2,000 annually to support their attending a conference/meeting or other educational activity of their choice.

For downloadable proposal and application forms visit the Forms & Feedback section of www.picnetbc.ca.

Since February 2006 PICNet has purchased and hosted educational classes offered by Webber Training.  These classes address topics of interest to infection control professionals and other health care professionals worldwide.

For more information on the topics and faculty of the 2009 Teleclass Education lecture series please visit the Webber Training web site www.webbertraining.com. Sign-up to receive emailed reminders of up-coming teleclasses which include links to class slides, handouts and the local PICNet teleconference connection number by emailing PICNet directly.

There are four Webber teleclasses scheduled for October 2009.

Date:

Teleclass Topic and Speaker:

Oct. 1

The Changing Face of MRSA – Evolving Epidemiology

Dr. Andrew Simor, Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto

Oct. 15

The Socioeconomic Cost of Enteric Disease

Dr. Paul Sockett, Health Canada View

Oct. 21

National Work on the Prevention of Healthcare Acquired Infections in Australia

Dr. Marilyn Cruikshank, Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Healthcare

Oct. 22

Improving Infection Control in Developing Countries

Dr. Benedetta Allegranzi, World Health Organization

Oct. 29

Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection: New Strategies from CDC/HICPAC  

Russell Olmsted, St. Joseph Mercy Health System