ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M Infection Prevention and founding partners, Association of
periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), International Association of
Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), the Surgical
Infection Society (SIS), and Practice Greenhealth have joined together
to form OneTogether: The Power of Small Actions, a multi-year
program with the goal of driving individual small actions to
collectively generate a significant impact on the incidence of
healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The OneTogether program is
designed to amplify individual actions, support collaborative
opportunities and engage a network of professionals working toward the
same goal.
“While the healthcare community is making progress in reducing the
occurrence of HAIs, still nearly 100,000 people will die this year in
the United States from preventable HAIs, and one in 20 patients will
contract an HAI while hospitalized,” said Debra Rectenwald, president
and general manager of 3M’s Infection Prevention Division. “These
statistics are troubling. That’s why 3M is forming OneTogether along
with our founding partners. We hope other organizations and individuals
will join in this important effort.”
The OneTogether initiative seeks to empower healthcare professionals to
bring sustained behaviors to their organizations and elevate the
infection prevention conversation within the broader healthcare
community.
“To eliminate HAIs, we need to try a new approach, as well as work
across teams to make a difference at every level,” said Linda Groah,
CEO/executive director of AORN. “OneTogether offers all of us a chance
to unite, share what’s working and reinforce how every little action we
take can have a major impact on patient safety.”
OneTogether is built from the E3 platform detailed in the Educate‚
Empower‚ Engage: A Collaborative Interdisciplinary Call to Action for
Reducing Surgical Site Infection whitepaper, published in 2012 and
based on work done at the fourth annual Infection Prevention Leadership
Summit. Based on the E3 platform, an independent advisory
panel of 35 passionate healthcare professionals with a diverse spectrum
of medical expertise was established to guide and shape the movement.
“The Central Service Department is an integral and yet often
under-leveraged ally in the fight against HAIs,” said Susan Adams,
Executive Director of IAHCSMM. “Our membership is passionate about their
role in ensuring safe patient care. We welcome the OneTogether
initiative as an opportunity to team with a coalition of associations
and individuals from many functions to share insights and develop new
approaches to HAI reduction.”
One approach of the OneTogether effort is to highlight what is working
well in healthcare facilities. During AORN’s annual meeting, OneTogether
is offering “Pay it Forward” cards for healthcare providers to provide
real-time recognition to colleagues for the small actions that help keep
patients safe from HAIs. The pocket-sized thank-you cards will be
available in the 3M booth (#3721) throughout the meeting (March 4–7),
along with more information on the OneTogether movement.
Healthcare providers can get more information about OneTogether by
visiting www.joinonetogether.org
and are encouraged to join the OneTogether LinkedIn community.
Professional organizations interested in joining 3M, AORN, and other
partner organizations in the OneTogether movement can learn more by
visiting www.joinonetogether.org.
About 3M Infection Prevention
3M Infection Prevention Division is truly on a mission to help reduce
healthcare-associated infections through its infection prevention
solutions. With its system of people, products and processes, 3M remains
a trusted partner committed to helping hospitals reduce the risk of
infections, improve patient outcomes and control their bottom lines.
Learn more at www.3m.com/infectionprevention.
About AORN
AORN represents the interests of more than 160,000 perioperative nurses
by providing nursing education, standards and practice resources —
including the peer-reviewed, monthly publication AORN Journal —
to enable optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other
invasive procedures. AORN’s 42,000 registered nurse members manage,
teach and practice perioperative nursing, are enrolled in nursing
education or are engaged in perioperative research. www.aorn.org
About IAHCSMM
The International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel
Management is the premier association for professionals in healthcare
central service/materiel management. IAHCSMM provides structural
educational opportunities, professional development and a forum for
information exchange to more than 19,000 members worldwide. For more
information, visit http://www.iahcsmm.org.
About SIS
The Surgical Infection Society (SIS) was organized in 1980 and is an
organization of physicians, scientists and other health care
professionals. The mission of the Surgical Infection Society is to
educate health care providers and the public about infection in surgical
patients and promote research in the understanding, prevention and
management of surgical infections. SIS organizes an annual meeting for
the purpose of presenting accepted and award-winning research abstracts,
papers and posters. The meeting is centered around the scientific
sessions, which function as a forum for exchange of information and
ideas and for networking with surgeons at all levels. In addition to
member research, SIS publishes position papers and guidelines relating
to the treatment of surgical infection in an effort to communicate and
educate the greater medical science and clinical community. For more
information, see www.sisna.org.
About Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking
organization for institutions in health care that have made a commitment
to sustainable, environmentally friendly practices. To learn more about
Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
