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.

One Pill Can Kill

Our daughter, Maisie, died after ingesting a methadone pill at a neighbor’s house that was on the floor. Six adults, three of them doctors, were with her the entire evening. Still, the small white pill found her hand, and then, as a nine-month-old baby would do, found her mouth. After putting Maisie to bed during Read More >

Posted on by Adam and MaryBeth Gillan, Maisie’s parents1 CommentTags

Reminder: Infection Control Actions to Take During Respiratory Virus Season

Last year’s considerable respiratory virus season saw spread of COVID-19, flu, and RSV, which led to extra stress on an already overwhelmed healthcare system. When respiratory viruses are spreading in the community, the risk for spread in healthcare settings increases as well. Remember: Regardless of your healthcare setting or which respiratory viruses are spreading in Read More >

Posted on by Mike Bell, MD1 CommentTags ,

New Africa CDC Legal Framework Helps Promote Infection Prevention and Control

Jay K. Varma, MD & Yewande Alimi, DVM, MPH

The authors of this post co-led the development of the Africa CDC Legal Framework for Infection Prevention and Control.  When we first began developing a strategy for Africa CDC to combat antimicrobial-resistant infections in Africa, we kept hearing the same message from people working in hospitals or in governments: no one gives us the authority Read More >

Posted on by Jay K. Varma, MD and Yewande Alimi, DVM, MPHTags

HICPAC invites your comments on revised isolation precautions guideline this fall

African American female healthcare worker dons a face mask as she approaches a healthcare facility

CDC’s evidence-based guidelines for health care are designed to protect healthcare workers and patients, encourage safe practices, improve health outcomes, and save lives. They are not regulations, but many regulatory bodies consider this advice when they create the rules that lead to penalties and payments for healthcare facilities. We have learned a lot about how Read More >

Posted on by Mike Bell, MD, and Alex Kallen, MD, MPH55 CommentsTags , ,

Multi-Dose Vial Safety Reminders for National Immunization Awareness Month

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, an observance to acknowledge the importance of routine vaccination for people of all ages. Project Firstline wants to ensure that all healthcare workers who give vaccines understand the importance of safe injection practices, and that they use multi-dose vaccine vials safely and correctly. A multi-dose vaccine vial is a Read More >

Posted on by Janet Glowicz with assistance from Mia Frederick and Brittney Foster9 CommentsTags