Safe Healthcare Blog

Hosted by CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. If you have questions or comments about healthcare safety topics, please contact CDC-INFO at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ContactUs/Form.

Demonstrating the Ability to Protect Healthcare Personnel from COVID-19 in High-Risk Settings

This content can also be found on the NIOSH Science Blog. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about stresses to the U.S. healthcare workforce never seen before. Since early in the pandemic, reports have abounded of healthcare personnel (HCP) being infected, sometimes resulting in severe outcomes and death. As of July 20, 2022, there have been nearly 1 Read More >

July 22, 2022 by L. Clifford McDonald, MD, and David Weissman, MD1 Comment

Healthcare-associated infections

COVID-19, Healthcare-associated Infections, Infection Control and Prevention, Infection Prevention

CDC Investing in the Next Generation of Prevention and Response in States

Denise Cardo, MD, Former Director, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The past two years have been an extraordinary time for the U.S. healthcare system and public health. Many healthcare facilities and healthcare workers were pushed to the brink—facing incredible Read More >

June 3, 2022 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog7 Comments

Healthcare-associated infections

American Rescue Plan, Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Use (Stewardship), Antimicrobial-resistant infections, COVID-19, Healthcare-associated Infections, Infection Control and Prevention, Infection Prevention, Laboratory surveillance capacity, National Healthcare Safety Network, Project Firstline

Compendium 2022 Update: Strategies for Healthcare-associated Infection Prevention

Updated recommendations on how to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), as well as ventilator-associated pneumonia, ventilator-associated events (VAEs), and non-ventilator healthcare-associated pneumonia (NV-HAP) were recently published. These changes come at a time when the need to strengthen infection prevention programs and help hospitals rebuild and support healthcare systems is urgent. These two guidance documents Read More >

May 24, 2022 by Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., FSHEA, FIDSA and Deborah Yokoe, MD, MPH16 Comments

Healthcare-associated infections

Healthcare-associated Infections, Infection Control and Prevention, Infection Prevention

Clean Hands May Have Saved My Son’s Life

Describe what the image is intended to communicate—not what it looks like

As both a mom and preschool teacher, I have said “wash your hands” more times than I can imagine. Before my newborn son died in a hospital, I never imagined I needed to say it to a doctor. But if all healthcare personnel always used proper hand hygiene in my son’s care, sepsis may not Read More >

May 5, 2022 by Mary Ellen Mannix4 Comments

Patient Stories and Patient Safety

Hand Hygiene, Infection Control and Prevention, Sepsis

Medication Safety for Parents & Caregivers

When our children don’t feel well, we parents will look to just about anything to bring them comfort. Many times, this means reaching for medication to ease their symptoms. As a pediatrician, I know the safest place to store medicine in between uses is in a location up and away. But as a mom, I’ve Read More >

March 23, 2022 by Dr. Hailey Nelson, MD, FAAP, IBCLC

Medication Safety

Danger, Medications, patient safety, Vulnerable Populations