Novel, collaborative effort in fight against HAIs
3M Infection Prevention and founding partners, International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), the Surgical Infection Society (SIS), Practice Greenhealth, and the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) of the American Hospital Association have joined together to formOneTogether: 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.
“The OneTogether movement brings together various functions and offers a united approach focused on behavioral change for the elimination of HAIs,” said Sharon Greene-Golden, President Elect for IAHCSMM. “Through the initiative, we invite our membership to make a difference at every level--from the OR to the kitchen staff –by giving them the opportunity to say, ‘Thank you for what you do every single day. Thank you for making a difference in our patients’ lives.’”
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.
“Numerous improvement measures have been implemented,” said Robert Sawyer, president, Surgical Infection Society; professor of surgery, University Of Virginia. “We’ve seen success, but not enough. To make significant progress, we need to go beyond the checklist to foster a culture that supports and engages staff in taking action.”
One approach of the OneTogether effort is to highlight what is working well in healthcare facilities. During the IAHCSMM Annual Conference and Expo taking place May 5-8 in San Diego, Calif., OneTogether “Pay it Forward” cards will be available in the 3M booth (#107). Healthcare providers are encouraged to use the cards to acknowledge colleagues for the important, everyday actions they take to keep patients safe from HAIs.
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.
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, IAHCSMM, 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 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 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 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.
About AHE
The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) of the American Hospital Association is the professional organization of choice for directors and managers caring for the patient and resident care environment across all care settings, including hospitals, long term care, continuing care retirement communities and ambulatory care. AHE represents, defines, and advances the professionals responsible for care of the healthcare environment to ensure quality outcomes and healthy communities. Visit www.ahe.org
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Media Contacts:
Mary Kokkinen Jennifer Westphal
3M Fleishman-Hillard
651-733-8806 816-512-2241
mckokkinen@mmm.com jennifer.westphal@fleishman.com
