On the podcast is Alexandra Peters.

Alexandra Peters is part of the University Hospitals of Geneva and World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre. It leads research and educational program development for Clean Hospitals, a global network dedicated to making hospitals safer through improved environmental hygiene. The group aims to conduct and support academic research, promote interdisciplinary, change how healthcare institutions view environmental hygiene, and raise standards worldwide.

Alexandra’s background in health security and biological security and her current work focuses on infection prevention and control. Specifically, she is working in healthcare environmental hygiene and hand hygiene. She is passionate about infection prevention, security, human behavior, and teaching. Her goals are to champion patient safety and improve public health through awareness-raising and transdisciplinary collaboration. 

A few key takeaways: 

On resource alignment

• ...in Europe, generally, nurses are overworked. During the pandemic, they're exhausted, and the people are clapping for them at the same time that some European hospitals are cutting budgets for staff.

On culture in healthcare settings

• Culture may be socially constructed, but that doesn’t make its effect any less real, and it needs to be taken into consideration with any health intervention.

On finances in hospitals 

• And so, with the way that budgets work within hospitals, it's easy to say we need x million dollars to buy a da Vinci robot, and here's how much money we're getting back from every operation. But how do we quantify money that's not spent? You know, how do we identify a pandemic that's been averted? And what budgets are that coming out of, and how do we prove that we're taking care of our cleaners better, or that we're using products based on scientific best practices and the knowledge we have today?  How do we prove that that's the reason why your hospital saved 40 million this year. And so that's sort of the big thing that we're also trying to work on.

 Connect with us on Twitter: 

• Dr. Marco Bo Hansen 
  • @marcobohansen
• Clean Hospitals
  • @Clean_Hospitals

On the podcast is Kelley Boston. 

Kelley is a Senior Associate with Infection Prevention & Management Associates.  She brings a background in public health and epidemiology to her infection prevention practice.  She holds a Masters of Public Health from The University of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health, and did her undergraduate work at The University of Texas at Austin.  She holds certifications in infection prevention and control (CIC), healthcare quality (CPHQ) and is recognized as a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC).   

Ms. Boston’s primary experience is in acute care, and has held leadership roles in multi-facility systems that have included both community hospitals and major academic teaching centers, and  specialized practice areas including pediatrics, transplant, and trauma.  She was honored as an APIC Hero of Infection Prevention in 2016 for her work in program integration and development within a large multi-facility healthcare system, leading to significant sustained improvement in infection outcomes. 

Ms. Boston is an active member of both the Society for Healthcare Epidemiologists of America (SHEA) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), where she has served as president and board member in multiple local chapters, and at the national level on the Communications Committee and APIC Text Editorial Panel.  She is currently the Editor of the APIC Text Online: APIC Text of Infection Control and Epidemiology.

A few key takeaways: 
On resource alignment

• You got to look at the cost-benefit trade. If I do this audit, what do I have to take time away from? Nobody has enough time or enough staff. It is all about the resources. 

On working in Infection Prevention

• You will never reach the end of your IP knowledge. And if you think you have, they will throw something like Coronavirus at you. 
• Do not harm. Hospitals can be dangerous places. By the end of the day, someone is safer for the work you have done.

On workplace culture

• How do we build a culture where we can help each other and create high performing teams? The importance of prevention (before the damage happens) – and the talk about why it is difficult to document successful prevention results. 

On our role as healthcare workers

• At the end of the day, someone is safer for the work that you have done.
• Hospitals should be safe places where people come to get the medical care that they need and go home better. 
• You will never be finished with the job. 

On data

• Generally, in the field about 40% looking at what happened, and 60% looking at what is happening and then all of the other daily tasks.
• Ask yourself, what are we collecting and how are we going to take action on it? 

 Connect with us on Twitter: 

• Dr. Marco Bo Hansen 
  • @marcobohansen
• Kelley Boston
  • @epikelley

On the podcast is Marieluise Einfalt.

She is an infection prevention and control nurse and a highly trusted academic expert in hospital hygiene. She serves as the Head of the Hygiene team at the Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethin, one of the largest hospitals in Northern Austria, where she teaches about hospital hygiene at the IMC Krems University.

In the podcast she discusses her passion for nursing, her take on Infection Prevention strategies, and how she believes that hand hygiene is cool!

Are you curious to know how they work with infection prevention in Austria and who are the most resistant to behavioural changes? Do you know what Hygiene mentors are, and do you want to learn about the KISS program? Learn more by giving this podcast a listen. 

A few key takeaways: 

• Marieluise believes that “Hygiene is not everything, but everything without hygiene is nothing.”
• She is a fan of the new generation of healthcare workers and their positive approach to hygiene. 
• She wants to remind us that small steps make a difference when it comes to infection prevention strategies. 

On nursing
"Do it with passion or leave it."

On hand hygiene
"Hand hygiene is cool!  Händehygiene ist cool!"

On innovations in infection prevention
"I think it is necessary to develop devices that support healthcare workers, not to forget about hand hygiene before and after some actions - in my opinion, there is still room for improvement of hand hygiene."

She encourages us to approach healthcare with purpose and passion. 

We apologize for any small buzzes in the podcast as this was recorded remotely to be mindful of COVID19 social distancing guidelines across Europe.

Connect with us on Twitter: 

• Dr. Marco Bo Hansen 
  • @marcobohansen
• Marieluise Einfalt
  • @praeventionista
• Ordensklinikum Linz
  • #teamordensklinikum

On the podcast is Peter Wilson.

Peter is a consultant microbiologist at the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where he has been working since 1990. His primary focus is on antibiotic advice and infection control in critical care. He has dedicated a great deal of his time and research to the treatment and prevention of transmission of hospital-acquired infections.

In the podcast he discusses the treatment and prevention of transmission of hospital-acquired infections, innovations in healthcare, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. 

A few key takeaways: 

Peter on hand hygiene in healthcare

“There is a difference in hand hygiene when an individual thinks that they are being observed, and when they are not being observed.”

Peter on carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria

“They can be very difficult to treat, there is a very limited range of antibiotics that can be used to deal with them…if you have good antimicrobial stewardship good cleaning, and good hand hygiene it is possible to prevent them from spreading. In addition, if you use a diversity of antibiotics, that helps too.”

We apologize for any small buzzes in the podcast, as this was recorded remotely to be mindful of COVID19 social distancing guidelines across Europe. 

On the podcast is Frode Forland.

Dr. Forland serves as Specialist Director of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He also is an Associate Professor at the University of Tromsø. He has clinical experience from working as a general practitioner, municipal, and county doctor. 

Previously he was a Director of Department at the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision and a division director in the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Frode also served as a senior expert at the ECDC and the Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands

A few key takeaways: 

Frode on building strong health systems

“You need to build health systems that can cope with any disease.”

Frode on infectious diseases

“Ever year, there are 1.2 million people dying of TB. Every year there are 800,000 people dying from AIDs. Every year 600,000 are dying of malaria. We very much know how to diagnose, prevent, and treat and we haven’t been able to get across the world to really do so. Now the whole world has jumped around corona and that has been extremely needed and useful, but I also wish we could have jumps like that for developing vaccines with the three diseases just mentioned.” 

We apologize for any small buzzes in the podcast as this was recorded remotely to be mindful of COVID19 social distancing guidelines across Europe. 

On the podcast is Joost Hopman. 

Joost is a consultant microbiologist at the Department of Medical Microbiology at Radboud University Hospital in the Netherlands. He has served as a consultant for Doctors without Borders Amsterdam and is an advisory board member of the Infection Control African Network (ICAN) and a board member of the Dutch IPC section of the Netherlands Society of Medical Microbiology (NVMM). 

Published in over 70 clinical studies, Joost is notably an expert in effective infection prevention and control measures, COVID-19 among healthcare workers, and tropical medicine. 

A few key takeaways: 

Joost on Infection Prevention Control 

•  “Infection prevention is the most affordable way of dealing with infections.”
•  “To me as a specialist in IP, prevention is really the best way of going forward. There are many beautiful examples worldwide where prevention is making the difference.  

Joost on making a difference in healthcare

•  “Focus on your own passion. Focus on your own ideas and ideals.” 

 We apologize for any small buzzes in the podcast as this was recorded remotely to be mindful of COVID19 social distancing guidelines across Europe. 

On the podcast this week is Hans Jørn Kolmos.

Hans has been the Chief Physician of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital and the University of Southern Denmark. He is a leading researcher in the healthcare-associated infection MRSA. 

Dr. Marco Bo Hansen, Sani nudge Medical Director had the privilege to sit down with Hans as he shared career highlights spanning randomised controls in infection prevention. 

Tune in to hear about the synergies between Infection Control nurses and Microbiologists,  the efficacy of masks, and the impact of COVID-19 on other infectious diseases.

A few key takeaways:

Hans on COVID-19

·      “There is an important lesson to take on from COVID-19 and that is, it really matters if you do hand hygiene or not.  Do you remember to do it? Do you do it with the right technique? This will change the disease pattern in the future.” 

Hans on healthcare associated infections and primum non nocere – first, do no harm

·      “Irrespective that you are busy, etcetera, the first rule for every medical doctor is do no harm.” 

·      “Hospital acquired infections are a kind of harm that we put on patients… that is the issue of harm. It is important that we have this in mind all of the time. First rule. Do no harm.” 

If you work in infection prevention, this is a can’t miss podcast!

In this Sani spotlight...

It is an important week for hygiene in Denmark as the Danish Council for Better Hygiene has announced it is working on a national strategy for hygiene improvements.

In September, Danish hand hygiene company Sani nudge's Head of Marketing Nancy Carleton got the opportunity to chat with Lars Münter the Administrative Director for the NGO the Danish Council for Better Hygiene.

In addition to leading the charge for Hygiene in Denmark, Lars is the Head of International Projects Unit, the Chef consultant for the Danish Committee for Health Education.

Learn more at: https://www.hygiejneugen.dk

Sani nudge
The markets' only hand hygiene solution to measure patient contact.

On the podcast is Else Smith.

Else is an MD, PHD and the previous CEO of the Danish Health Authority. She has been a board member of the Global World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and for the European Medicines Agency. She has also extensive research and clinical experience within infectious diseases.

Dr. Marco Bo Hansen, Sani nudge Medical Director had the privilege to sit down with Else as she shared career highlights spanning across her specialty in public health, her work with Aids and HIV infections in women in the mid 1980’s, and building the WHO directed influenza pandemic plan in Denmark. 

A few key takeaways:

• On corona’s impact: “We achieve a stronger awareness of hygiene.”
• On corona testing: “Of course in general, testing helps us keep track.”
• On keeping our healthcare workers safe: “If you don’t have healthy healthcare workers, then there is no health for the population.”

If you work in infection prevention, this is a can’t miss podcast!

Tune in to learn Else’s top 3 tips for working in disease prevention and hygiene!

Lars Münter is the Head of International Projects Unit, the Chef consultant for the Danish Committee for Health Education, and the Administrative Director for the NGO the Danish Council for Better Hygiene.

In this preview to an upcoming hygiene + infection prevention podcast, he describes how we can make hygiene "fun" with a short description on 2020's Danish Hygiene Week!

Learn more at: https://www.hygiejneugen.dk