ST. PAUL, Minn., Jun 08, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ecolab Inc. announced today that it has assembled a roster of renowned
infectious disease practitioners to give presentations on the topics of
environmental hygiene and hand hygiene at its booth during the
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Inc. (APIC) Annual Conference, June 7-11, 2009 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Renowned infection control expert Dr. Phillip C. Carling IV, Director of
Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at Carney Hospital in
Boston, heads up the roster of speakers. He is joined by Karen Martin,
Director of Infection Control/Epidemiology and Environmental Services
for Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., and other noted
infection control practitioners that will present at the Ecolab
Healthcare booth (# 720) throughout the conference.
Ecolab Healthcare is focusing its efforts at the show on driving
awareness of new approaches and innovations available to help healthcare
facilities combat the spread of pathogens in hospitals that cause deadly
infections.
"Environmental services has too long been overlooked as a method to
reduce healthcare acquired infections despite the studies demonstrating
that improperly cleaned patient rooms elevate the risk of pathogen
transmission," said Dr. Carling. "Training, education and a systematic
approach to cleaning have been shown to reduce environmental
contamination, thereby helping to prevent these infections."
Featured presentations include:
- "Patient Safety - The Role of Pathogen Contaminated Surfaces in
the Transmission of HAIs" by Philip C. Carling, IV, MD,
Infectious Disease Section, Carney Hospital, Boston.
- "Systematic Approach to Improved Environmental Hygiene"
by Karen Martin, Director of Infection Control/Epidemiology and
Environmental Services, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, Ill.
- "Multi-Modal Strategy for Hand Hygiene Measurement" by
Gwen Stewart, RN, BSN, Infection Control Practitioner, Sibley Memorial
Hospital, Washington, D.C.; and John Govednik, MS, Director of
Training and Communications, McGuckin Methods International.
In addition, Ecolab scientists will be presenting two posters at the
conference:
- Evaluation of Quat Absorption and Efficacy of Cleaning Cloths
by Linda E. Grieme, MS, Principal Microbiologist; Kirsten M. Thompson,
BS, Technical Affairs Expert; Henry L. Carbone, II BSIME, MSEM, Senior
Program Leader.
- Evaluation of the use of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in
auditing patient room cleanliness by Angela R. Eder, PhD,
Principal Chemist; Erin R. Brown, MS, Senior Chemist; Henry L.
Carbone, II, BSIME, MSEM, Senior Program Leader; Kirsten M. Thompson,
BS, Technical Affairs Expert.
"As new requirements for environmental cleaning are evolving and
becoming more regulated, we continue to work with our customers to
implement best practices not only in hand hygiene but in environmental
cleaning, a long-standing area of expertise for our company," said Paul
B. Chaffin, Vice President for Ecolab Healthcare NA.
With sales of $6 billion and more than 26,000 associates, Ecolab Inc.
(NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety
and infection prevention products and services. Ecolab delivers
comprehensive programs and services to foodservice, food and beverage
processing, healthcare, and hospitality markets in more than 160
countries. More news and information is available at www.ecolab.com.
(ECL-C)
SOURCE: Ecolab Inc.
Ecolab Inc.
Jennifer Kirscher, 651-293-2846
Copyright Business Wire 2009