Package Description

It's 7:30 am and you just found out the Joint Commission is at the door- how do you react? This presentation will provide you with information and tools you can use to help ensure your next survey is successful. We will review the IC Standards to provide organizations an understanding of what is required by The Joint Commission. We will break down the Infection Prevention hierarchy and provide examples of how it can be used to answer most of your Infection Prevention-related questions, including high risk processes such as instrument reprocessing and sterilization. And finally, we will discuss what surveyors are looking for when they come into your organization. And ultimately...when you get that call at 7:30 am telling you the Joint Commission has arrived...you will feel confident that you have taken the steps to prepare for the survey and you are able to share your organization's commitment to patient safety.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this course, learners should be able to:

• describe how the Infection Prevention Standards can help build an Infection Prevention Program
• recognize common Joint Commission findings in the dental setting
• describe the use of the Infection Prevention hierarchy in developing IP practices for high-infection risk processes in the dental setting.

Price:

• Members: $15
• Non-members: $30

CE Information:

CE Credits: 1.00

Click here to view detailed CE information about this course.

Speakers:

Sylvia Garcia Houchins, MBA, RN, CIC

Sylvia Garcia-Houchins is the Director, Infection Prevention and Control and an Ambulatory Care Surveyor. In these roles, she is responsible for the oversight of infection prevention and control for The Joint Commission and surveying the standards in the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual/Accreditation Manual for Ambulatory Care.

Ms. Garcia-Houchins has over 30 years of experience in infection control, as well as eight years of clinical microbiology experience. Most recently, she served as the Director, Infection Control at University of Chicago Medicine and was also an intermittent consultant for Joint Commission Resources for 10 years. Ms. Garcia-Houchins has provided infection prevention and control consultation, assessment, and education in a variety of health care settings including hospitals, health clinics, ambulatory surgery, and dialysis centers both domestically and internationally. Her specialty areas of interest include disinfection and sterilization, dialysis, infection prevention during renovation and construction, and control of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens. One of the highlights of her career has been training health care professionals in Saudi Arabia as Infection Preventionists. She served as a test writer and reviewer for the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, and has also authored numerous articles and book chapters related to infection control including a chapter in the APIC Text and the Cleaning, Disinfection and Sterilization Chapter in The APIC/JCR Infection Prevention and Control Workbook, 4th Edition.

Ms. Garcia-Houchins earned a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, a master’s of business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management, and her nursing degree from Truman College.

Disclosures: No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Diane Cullen, RN, MSN, MBA, CIC

Ms. Cullen currently holds the position of Associate Director in the Standards Interpretation Group in the Division of Healthcare Improvement at The Joint Commission. In this role, Ms. Cullen is responsible for working closely with accredited and certified organizations to interpret The Joint Commission standards, identify vulnerabilities, and improve their performance. She also conducts intra-cycle monitoring calls, coaching calls, and responds to inquiries from accredited organizations and the public related to compliance with Joint Commission standards. Ms. Cullen reviews and determines the status of post-survey reports, clarifications, measures of success, and evidence of standards compliance submitted as part of the survey process. She provides leadership and guidance within the team in all aspects of the accreditation process through clinical expertise in infection prevention and customer relationship management and supports the field representative cadre and other customers through the provision of expert interpretation, guidance, and collaboration. Prior to joining The Joint Commission, Ms. Cullen worked as an Infection Preventionist for 15 years. Most recently, she was the Manager of Infection Prevention at a major metropolitan medical center. She has also led infection prevention in a variety of health care settings including long-term acute care, community and county hospitals. Ms. Cullen has consulted with many other organizations to help review and develop their infection prevention programs, and she has presented infection prevention topics at local, national, and international events. Ms. Cullen received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago, Illinois, with a focus in Population-based Infection Control and Environmental Safety. She received a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from Western Governors University. She is also Certified in Infection Control (CIC).

Disclosures: No relevant financial relationships to disclose

Educational Funding Provided By: