Friday July 30, 2010
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 News Archives
January 13, 2010 COMING SOON! ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING BEST PRACTICES TRAINING A RICN provincial project team has met with environmental services (ES) representatives from across the province to develop a strategy for training front-line ES staff in Ontario healthcare facilities. The results of the meeting included the development of a draft training package and a summary of the feedback from ES representatives in attendance on the various methodologies required to teach front-line staff.The goal is to develop tool kits that include a leaders’ guide and a variety of materials such as PowerPoint presentations, demo videos, posters and other visuals. Planning is also underway for train-the-trainer sessions to support the rollout of these materials.
Watch this space for project updates! (Last updated January 13, 2010) May 10, 2010 CORRECTION ANNOUNCEMENT - OOPS!
NAC POCKET GUIDES: FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS IN NON ACUTE CARE SETTINGS
 Unfortunately some errors were discovered in the booklet "Infection Prevention & Control Pocket Guide for Health Care Providers in Non Acute Care Settings”, a new RICN resource. These errors were found on pages 59,72 and 73. Click here to view all corrections.
We offer our sincerest apologies to all our stakeholders! Although most Regional Infection Control Networks have made every effort to make these corrections prior to distribution, some may have already picked up copies. In this case, please contact your local Network to obtain corrected labels. Kindly ensure these corrections have been made October 20, 2009
Just Clean Your Hands for Long-Term Care!
Check this site often for updates on this great upcoming program!
September 20, 2009 HIN1 Influenza Emergency Management Unit (MOH<C) Hotline:
For questions on the Important Health Notices, call the hotline number 1-866-212-2272 between 0900 - 1600 hrs or email your questions to emergencymanagement.moh@ontario.ca HIN1 Influenza Important Health Notices:The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care issue Important Health Notices (IHN) in response to abnormal events that require ministry direction or notices. Click here to link to these notices. July 2009
2008 - 09 Annual Report As a network of networks across the province, the RICNs offer anyone responsible for infection prevention and control in healthcare, an innovative link to expertise in their communities. Our Annual Report, available in English and French, describes many initiatives that, over the past year, have contributed to the promotion of IPAC best practices across the health care continuum.Please take a few moments to browse through its contents.If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact your local network (Contact Us) High resolution version for download English (9.8MB)Francais (12.4MB) June 11, 2009 WHO Raises Pandemic Alert to Phase 6: Phase 6, the pandemic phase is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least on other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is underway. Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigatin measures is short. Go to WHO Website The following are news items from the RICN home page that have been archived for reference purposes. Please note that some links may expire with time: Health System Improvements Act, 2007: A new Ontario legislation (Health System Improvements Act, 2007) has been passed which includes the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion Act (Schedule K). This act provides for a centre for public health excellence in Ontario that will provide research, scientific and technical advice and support to those working to protect and improve the health of Ontarians. June 1, 2009
RICNs Make a Splash in Newfoundland...
The work of Regional Infection Control Networks was on display at CHICA's National Education Conference held in St. John's from May 9 - 14. Select a link below to view the poster presentations:
February 16, 2010 Maternal Newborn Guidelines Project
A 2007 review of Level III NICUs lead to the creation of anInfection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Work Group, under the leadership of the Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH) in 2008 to recommend standardized recommendations that provide consistency when dealing with infection prevention and control within and between maternal and newborn units.
The consensus-based policies developed by the IPAC Work Group are now availablehereand are in alignment with the current maternal newborn recommendations and the various best practice documents developed by the Provincial Infectious Disease Advisory Committee (PIDAC).Champions have been identified in all Maternal Newborn Programs and will now be offered training along with the ICPs and medical staff within each site. The RICNs will endeavour to support these members as they adopt the recommendations.
If you have any questions regarding the Maternal Newborn Project and/or the recommendations, please contact Isabelle Langman. ©Istockphoto.com/Don Bayley January 15, 2010
This document is intended for health care providers to ensure that the critical elements and methods of appropriate cleaning practices of the physical environment in health care are incorporated into each health care facility’s procedures.
This document covers such issues as:
The Regional Infection Control Networks (RICNs) invite you to join us today in celebrating the first ever, This national, joint initiative of The Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Accreditation Canada and the Community and Hospital Infection Control Association-Canada (CHICA-Canada) coincides with the World Health Organization's (WHO) Save Lives, Clean Your Hands Day. While this global initiative varies slightly fromOntario's Just Clean Your Hands (JCYH) program (5 versus 4 moments), the principles are the same. Both programs share a common goal of improving outcomes for our patients, residents and clients through hand hygiene. As many of you are aware, the RICNs have been supporting the roll-out of JCYH in the Long-Term Care homes across the province and the enthusiastic response has been overwhelming. We encourage you all to participate today in some fashion and to consider sharing your experiences and any pictures from your events with your local RICN. We in turn will celebrate your stories and pictures during this year'sNational Infection Control Week in October. Here are a few links that you may also find useful as you plan your day: |
 
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