Author Archive for: Libby Chinnes
Standard precautions trump scheduling with MRSA patients
September 23rd, 2009 
Q: I am curious as to the scheduling of a known MRSA patient in the operating room (OR). Are there any regulations as to whether they should be done the first case of the day or the last?
A: Whether you schedule known MRSA patients in the OR first or last isn’t nearly as important as how your OR staff is trained.
The evolution of the infection preventionist
July 22nd, 2009
There is little doubt the role of infection preventionists (IP) is becoming more important and more diverse as dangerous infections evolve and infiltrate our nation’s hospitals.
But it’s also a role that is new for many healthcare sectors, especially the ambulatory care sector, where CMS Conditions for Coverage now require ambulatory surgery centers to appoint a trained professional in charge of the infection prevention program. In other facilities like long-term care, or long term acute care (LTACs), the IP position is in place, but may be divided among numerous other responsibilities such as supervisor, staff educator, employee health coordinator, etc. Therefore, IPs in any setting must be given the proper training, time, and resources to do the job.
IC tips on complying with CMS CfCs for ambulatory surgery centers
July 1st, 2009
It’s been just over a month since CMS officially implement its new CfCs for Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC), but some people are still concerned about whether their facility is meeting the requirements. When I attended the APIC conference a few weeks ago I heard a number of people requesting guidance on this subject.
Below are a few suggestions that might help a new IP at an ASC:
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Libby Chinnes
Libby Chinnes, RN, BSN, CIC, owner of IC Solutions, LLC (Mt. Pleasant, SC) is an infection control consultant with more than 25 years of experience in infection prevention. She provides consultation to infection control programs in assessment and problem solving, and infection control training in acute care, long term care, ambulatory care, home care, and long term-acute care.
Libby has written 3 posts.
