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IPAC Team First in North America to Win International Infection Prevention and Control Award
June 1, 2009
Providence Health Care is pleased to announce that our Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPAC) has won the Oxoid Special Judges’ Award for excellence in hospital infection prevention. It is the first time such an award has been bestowed upon an infection control team in North America.
“The Oxoid Infection Control Team of the Year Awards are open to infection prevention and control teams worldwide,” says Fiona Macrae, Oxoid awards manager. “We are delighted to make a Judges’ Special Award to the infection control team at Providence Health Care for the work they have undertaken, not only reducing levels of hospital acquired infections, including VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci), which does not commonly feature in awards entries, but also reducing infections in intravenous drug users and homeless persons in Canada’s poorest neighbourhood known as Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.”
"It is a real honour to receive this award,” said Dr. Marc Romney, PHC’s Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control. “The IPAC Team would like to share the Judges’ Special Award with all PHC staff, physicians and leaders who have helped reduce our rates of hospital-acquired infections over the past five years.”
At St. Paul’s Hospital, 15 percent of patient admissions are attributable to injection drug use. This group has high prevalence rates of antibiotic-resistant organisms (AROs), including MRSA [Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus] and VRE. Providing IPAC services for those with substance abuse issues-as well as the remainder of the population -has presented unique challenges for the IPAC Team as well as the hospital’s other staff and physicians.
“We’ve tackled these challenges, and others like Influenza A H1N1, by instituting a broad infection prevention and control program, based on best available evidence and using local data to support innovative practice,” said Romney. “These strategies include an extensive hand hygiene campaign with a mandatory hand hygiene test for physicians, sophisticated laboratory detection methods, refined surveillance systems, and enhanced infection control awareness and practices among health care professionals.”
Although challenges and barriers remain, PHC’s dedicated infection prevention and control strategies are having positive impacts, as evidenced by a 35 percent decrease in hospital-acquired MRSA rates compared to the previous year. As well, hand hygiene compliance increased through the first phase of the campaign by approximately 50 percent.
“Canada has long been seen as a leader in infection control and prevention practices,” said Suhail Khan, Oxoid Canadian Clinical Market Manager. “The award submission made by the Infection Prevention and Control Team at Providence Health Care is an excellent example of the level of expertise within Canada. The Infection Control Practitioners at Providence Health Care should be proud of their world class efforts.”
Members of PHC’s IPAC Team will attend an awards ceremony in Birmingham, UK, on Tuesday, June 2, where they will be presented with their Judges’ Special Award.
