title: Beat Those Bugs! Implementing contact precautions in community dialysis units for closer-to-home care.
abstract: "Beat Those Bugs!" was the call to action for the Providence Health Care Renal and Infection Prevention and Control programs to provide closer-to-home care in community dialysis units, for hemodialysis patients positive for the antibiotic-resistant organisms, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus. The initiative assessed barriers and facilitators to: implementing Contact Precautions; developing practice standards for nurses and renal technicians to enact Contact Precautions care; providing staff and patient education essential to implementing these standards; and, securing environmental and equipment supports required for Contact Precautions care. Through the "Beat Those Bugs!" initiative, all six Providence Health Care Community Dialysis Units have the capacity to provide Standard/ Routine as well as Contact Precautions care enabling patients to receive closer-to-home care in their home communities regardless of their antibiotic-resistant microorganism status. Program evaluation (based on annual screening) demonstrates that the "Beat Those Bugs!" program is an effective model for safe, evidence-based and ethical care in the hemodialysis setting.
authors.affiliation: Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC), Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2K5. jcurtin@providencehealth.bc.ca
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Curtin
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalziel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000592:standards*; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D010348:Patient Care Team; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000592:standards*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014640:Vancomycin; D008712:Methicillin