Infectious knowledge: Workers learn about heath care-associated infections in mobile classroom
By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian
We all have a general idea of a school bus: big, yellow, full of kids on their way to class.
“Big” is the only part that fits Kimberly-Clark Health Care's HAI education rig, which pulled up in front of St. Patrick Hospital on Tuesday. It's predominantly blue. It's full of doctors and nurses. And they're in class the minute they step on board.
The health care-associated infection education bus has just a dozen seats (not counting the driver). But each one has its own computer terminal equipped with headphones. A health care worker can stop in, select from 20 classes, and pick up a continuing education credit in an hour or less.
“It's hard for nurses to get to classes when they've got patients to take care of on their floor,” said St. Patrick case management nurse Deborah Hancock. “The convenience of this is great. Usually we have to go to somewhere like the DoubleTree Hotel for a full-day conference.”
Registered nurse Donna Boyer, center: takes advantage of courses offered on the Kimberly-Clark Health Care HAI education bus parked in front of St. Patrick Hospital on Tuesday morning. “It's a nice way to get some extra education,” Boyer says. Photo by LINDA THOMPSON/Missoulian
Hancock had just finished a refresher course on surgical site infection prevention. The HAI curriculum concentrates on medical challenges that hospitals themselves present. According to research provided by St. Patrick Hospital, an estimated one in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care in developed countries. Surgical safety problems account for half of avoidable events that kill or disable patients.
“HAI is a prevalent issue in health care today,” said St. Patrick vice president of nursing Joyce Dombrouski. “Prevention is certainly our top priority. We believe that continuing education among our health care professionals about the latest in best practices associated with infection prevention is one of the most effective measures for controlling the risk of HAI.”
The problems range from biological threats such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, to procedural checklists (such as ensuring the right patient is in the right room for the right operation). Kimberly-Clark region manager Shawn McNicol said while the topics seem common sense, even common sense needs an update.
“The need to wash hands or avoid operating room fires seems obvious,” McNicol said. “But the point is that in an operating room they have a lot of things to think about. An operating room is an incredibly busy environment. We want patients to feel better about coming to a hospital that takes the time to teach its staff these things.”
Other topics have more recent developments. For example, trauma patients who need to be put on a ventilator to breathe also need to have their mouths cleaned first - or risk catching ventilator-acquired pneumonia. As MRSA infections have spread to more and more unexpected areas, many of St. Pat's catering staff came to ensure their kitchen disinfection procedures are up to date.
Inside the bus, students could take any of the classes without disrupting anyone else. Or a presenter could lead all 12 participants in a single topic, assisted by an interactive computer projector. Four other instructors were giving classes in St. Pat's conference rooms Tuesday.
The classes were open to all health care workers in Missoula on Tuesday. McNicol said he'd be on the road Wednesday, heading for Lincoln, Neb., and then the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.
