A newly published paper in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) has brought into sharp focus, the intricate challenge of coordinating enough resources towards infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities, specifically pediatric hospitals. The study underscores the difficulties in accurately quantifying the staffing requirements for these roles using traditional methods. In short, healthcare systems need a redefined approach to ensure patient safety.
Infection Preventionists (IPs) at Boston Children’s Hospital, who piloted this study, have questioned the conventional procedures that are relied upon to determine the requisite staffing level for these roles. They argue that the traditional count based on the number of inpatient beds in a hospital doesn’t take into account current healthcare trends. Such trends include the uptick in outpatient procedures, shorter hospital stays, and an increased focus on ambulatory services, all of which significantly inflate the actual demand for IPs.
The APIC survey, conducted in 2020, ascertained that a mere 14% of respondents claimed their work was entirely focused on infection prevention activities, with the majority tasked with additional responsibilities such as quality improvement, education, and regulatory compliance. These roles, although vital in their own right, further complicate the true allocation of resources towards infection control.
In the research paper, IPs conduct an exhaustive assessment of the infection prevention and control requirements at Boston Children’s Hospital, which comprises over 40 clinical departments. The hospital serves over 47,000 emergency department visits and more than 690,000 ambulatory visits annually. The IPs at the hospital are tasked with supporting the main hospital and numerous off-site locations. Considering the study’s emphasis on time allocation for on-site and off-site responsibilities, as well as evaluating the complexity of services at different ambulatory locations, the researchers concluded that the hospital was working with an IP deficit.
Based on estimates required to execute all necessary tasks, it was determined that there was a need for 2.5 more full-time IPs in the ambulatory and procedural departments. This deficit was conveyed to hospital leadership, along with a proposal for additional hires. As a result, four more IPs were hired to increase support across the departments. Thus proving the necessity for a strategic approach to IP resourcing, while also pushing for a higher degree of transparency concerning how resources are currently allocated.
In closing, Lindsay Weir, the lead infection preventionist at Boston Children’s Hospital and primary author of the paper, emphasized the need for more work towards understanding the extensive demand for infection prevention and control in pediatric ambulatory and procedural settings. This information is essential to ensuring that IPs have the resources required to cater to these expanding needs adequately.