Personal Protective Equipment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends placement of patients with a history of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and/or vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) colonization on contact precautions (CP). However, without national guidelines to advise on if or when contact precautions should may be discontinued, hospitals are left to determine for themselves when to remove patients from isolation, if at all.

Healthcare facilities that experience outbreaks of norovirus are challenged with disinfection methods, case histories and control measures. Because the norovirus is highly contagious and lives in the inanimate environment, isolation and cleaning practices must be vigilant.

Medical tape is used on practically all hospital patients, from newborns to the elderly, in the emergency room and in a number of departments within the hospital. Common uses are for wound closure, intravenous (IV) therapy or other procedures. It is a rare patient that does not encounter tape.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its influenza statistics for the 2012-2013 influenza season for Week 1 ending Jan. 5, 2013. Public health officials are reporting that from Dec. 30, 2012 through Jan. 5, 2013, influenza activity remained elevated in the U.S., but may be decreasing in some areas.