Pee Dee AHEC: Infection Prevention for Long Term Care Facilities

Long Term Care Facilities may be defined as institutions that provide healthcare to people who are unable to manage independently in the community. More than 1.5 million residents reside in United States’ nursing homes. In recent years, the acuity of illness of nursing home residents has increased. It is not surprising that almost as many healthcare acquired infections occur in Long Term Care Facilities as in hospitals in the United States.
Dr. Philip W. Smith, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska American Journal of Infection Control, July 2008

On October 28, Pee Dee AHEC will host a three-hour course that addresses infection prevention in long term care settings in Florence, SC. This standardized program was developed through funding provided by a partnership with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare and the North Carolina Division of Health Services.

Vicky R. Zelenka, RN, CIC, LNC, board certified infection preventionist and legal nurse consultant will provide instruction. She has 42 years of infection prevention experience, 37 of which she served in the acute care setting. She is a quality auditor for APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) Consulting Services in Washington, DC as well as a contributing author in infectious disease texts.

For further program information, visit the website: peedeeahec.net

Comments

Mid-Carolina AHEC Simulation Activity Allows Students to Step into Nurses’ Shoes

Prior to COVID-19 Students in the Mid-Carolina AHEC Health Careers Program were able to participate in an interactive activity that allowed them to act as nurses during a simulation activity. The experience was offered through Mid-Carolina AHEC’s continued partnership with Midlands Technical College: Airport Campus. Chaunta Simmons, RN, an instructor with the college’s Health Sciences Department, developed the experience to provide a way for students to actively learn about the nursing profession. Together with Nursing Department Chair Shirley Bannister, RN, they explained the roles of nurses, provided a brief presentation, and enabled students to perform as nurses by taking care of their simulated patient. Students completed a series of tasks common to the day-to-day nursing practice such as patient assessment, foley catheter management, patient positioning, post-operative management, medication administration and safety all while adorned with personal protective equipment (PPE). &qu

Upstate AHEC Leverages Blended Learning Format to Train Health Professionals

Upstate AHEC partnered with Lila Doyle Nursing Home, Prisma Health, AnMed Health Rehab, Greenville County Schools, and the Greenville County Detention Center to help train their employees using a blended learning modality. Through this learning format, participants complete an online lecture and post-test via AHECU and then attend an in-person lab to practice their skills and complete their skills competency checkoffs. Upstate AHEC also works with the outpatient staff of Bon Secours St. Francis in Greenville to complete their medication administration and vital signs training and assessment utilizing the blended learning method. As part of the new hire orientation week, employees view online lecture modules and then attend a vital signs training and lab at Upstate AHEC as well as a medication administration lab. Certified medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, radiology technicians, registered nurses, and unlicensed personnel are all a

Pee Dee AHEC Adapts Training Formats During Pandemic

Pee Dee AHEC’s continuing professional development programs, like so many other organizations, had an unexpected year full of transitions and adaptations to new platforms of training. As a result of COVID-19, Pee Dee AHEC quickly transitioned a large number of previously scheduled in-person programs to live webinars. Using the webinars has enabled Pee Dee AHEC to reach many new health professionals, resulting in many new participants across the state of South Carolina and beyond. For example, Pee Dee AHEC partnered with colleges and universities to allow senior nursing students to attend the “Legal Aspects of Nursing Documentation: How Well Would Your Documentation Hold Up in Court?” to earn 6.5 hours toward their clinical requirements. This partnership has continued to grow and serve as a great resource to nursing students and practicing health professionals as well. Pee Dee AHEC has hosted a variety of new speakers to teach programs to counselors and social workers that provided trai

South Carolina AHEC News & Updates

Search This Blog