Phenelle Segal on the Healthcare Worker COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Conundrum

In response to the ongoing debate about whether healthcare workers should be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine, Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, president and founder of Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS), states the following:

"Since COVID-19 emerged, ICCS has focused significantly on supporting nursing homes.  While I believe there is merit to the COVID-19 vaccine being mandated, I understand why nursing homes are not yet taking those steps. It is a complex situation as I have learned from engaging in conversation with administrators.

"There is a critical shortage of nursing staff, particularly aides. When staff is lacking, care may be compromised. This is magnified in the COVID environment. Mandating the vaccine may drive staff away from the nursing homes, making recruitment and retention more difficult. While we have seen numerous employees continue to test positive, especially those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, the highly successful vaccination of the elderly, particularly those in nursing homes, is resulting in a significantly lower incidence of illness and positivity among residents. Fully vaccinated staff are mostly asymptomatic. A significant sign of vaccine success is the overall lack of disease that leads to hospitalization and death in the elderly.

"Several factors contribute to vaccine hesitancy, including lack of understanding and education. Focusing efforts on educating the staff about the value of the vaccine for them personally as well as the residents is paramount.

"A higher priority in nursing homes should be performing infection control and prevention processes correctly. These practices ultimately keep residents safe during pandemic and non-pandemic times." 

Joint Commission Infection Control Standards Among the Most Challenging in 2020

The Joint Commission has published the top 5 requirements identified most frequently as "not compliant" during surveys and reviews performed in 2020, and infection control standards made the list for many programs.

The breakdown is as follows:

Ambulatory Health Care

Infection control standards take the top two spots:

1) IC.02.02.01: The organization reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.

2) IC.02.01.01: The organization implements infection prevention and control activities.

Nursing Care Centers

An infection control standard took the second spot:

2) IC.02.01.01: The organization implements its infection prevention and control plan.

Home Care

An infection control standard took the first spot:

1) IC.02.01.01: The organization implements the infection prevention and control activities it has planned.

Office-Based Surgery

Infection control standards take the top two spots:

1) IC.02.02.01: The practice reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.

2) IC.02.01.01: The practice implements infection prevention and control plan.

Hospitals

Infection control standards were second and third:

2) IC.02.02.01: The hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.

3) IC.02.01.01: The hospital implements its infection prevention and control plan.

Critical Access Hospitals

Infection control standards took the first and third spots:

1) IC.02.02.01: The critical access hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.

3) IC.02.01.01: The critical access hospital implements its infection prevention and control plan.

Access the full lists for these and other programs in the latest issue of Joint Commission Online.

The Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) team has a lengthy track record of success with assisting healthcare providers with preparation for surveys, mitigation of deficiencies, and development of plans of correction. To learn more, contact ICCS.

ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter: April 2021

This issue covers some of the most significant news from April. Topics include nursing home citations, urological endoscopes, antimicrobial resistance, airborne transmission of COVID, and C. diff.

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Infection Control Immediate Jeopardy Citations Tripled in 2020 – and Nursing Homes Should Expect Even More — An analysis of citations of non-compliance with federal regulations received by nursing homes showed that the F-tag F880, for the presence of an infection prevention and control program, was cited more than 11,500 times in 2020.

FDA is Investigating Reports of Infections Associated with Reprocessed Urological Endoscopes — From Jan. 1, 2017, through Feb. 20, 2021, the FDA received more than 450 medical device reports describing post-procedure patient infections or other possible contamination issues associated with reprocessing urological endoscopes.

Antibiotic Development, Stewardship Advocates See Window of Opportunity — Many clinicians, scientists, and public health advocates are calling for renewed attention to antimicrobial resistance, which was in the spotlight before the pandemic.

Long-Term Care Remains in the Dark About Infection Preventionist Requirements — Long-term care providers remain in the dark as to who will fit the federal government's final infection preventionist criteria.

FDA Recommends Transition from Use of Decontaminated Disposable Respirators — FDA announced that healthcare personnel and facilities should transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies, such as decontamination and bioburden reduction systems.

Top Violation at Iowa Nursing Homes: Infection Control — The most frequently cited healthcare violations in Iowa nursing homes in 2020 were related to infection control. From what the ICCS team has witnessed, this is likely the case in most, if not all states.

Experts Provide 10 Reasons Why the Coronavirus is Airborne — An assessment of published research led researchers to conclude that COVID-19 is predominantly transmitted through the air and had them calling for immediate implementation of public health measures focused on protecting against such transmission.

Doctor Group Advises Shorter Antibiotic Course for Common Infections — The American College of Physicians released new guidelines recommending a short course of antibiotics for four common inpatient bacterial infections in inpatient and outpatient settings.

Open the Windows to Curb COVID Spread: Experts — Opening windows and ventilating spaces should be at the heart of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a group of experts stated.

Antibiotic Stewardship Program Implementation Reduces Antibiotic Use — A study of more than 400 hospitals offers takeaways for creating hospital antibiotic stewardship programs.

Diabetes Drug Could Protect Against Dangerous Infection — Researchers have demonstrated that a common diabetes drug inhibits the spread of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff).

Overprescribing of Certain Antibiotics Might Cause C. Diff — A study showed that greatly reducing the prescribing of carbapenems and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporin antibiotics can help contain the spread of C. diff.