New Initiatives To Prevent Bloodstream Infections

Executive Dialogue

Improving hospital infection prevention and patient safety while balancing pandemic demands

An influx of critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on health care systems, with many infection-prevention resources diverted to outbreak management. Although these efforts have understandably taken immediate priority, after years of decline, the increase in health care-associated infections (HAIs) highlights the need to return to traditional infection prevention and control practices and build resilience to future outbreaks. Over the past 10 years U.S. health care providers have made significant progress in eliminating HAIs and, as a result, health care is safer. As the field looks to build on this success and continue eliminating HAIs, new initiatives are being explored in preventing bloodstream infections. Hospital-onset bacteremia and fungemia (HOB) is a new area of focus for infection preventionists and front-line clinical staff to help reduce avoidable infections and enhance patient safety.