Thursday, February 19, 2004

Preventing the Spread of Infection
In an effort to supplement the basic information OSHA supplies on infection control for ambulances, the Center began looking at what threat an ambulance poses and how best to eliminate that threat and train first responders on infection control. An ambulance’s unique nature makes it difficult to quickly and effectively sterilize its space without risk of damage to necessary equipment. The Center is working with Clean Earth Technology, a local company, to determine what organisms are most prevalent in an ambulance and how best to develop a system of control to prevent susceptibility of infection for both EMS workers and patients. To that end, the Center produced a video using a material called Glogerm. This material enables the viewer to see how quickly and easily germs spread across a surface. This video was recently used at Saint Louis University in a presentation to the OSHA Deputy Chief. Future goals for this program include a training component on infection control for fire, EMS and law enforcement professionals. Better trained first responders are essential to preventing the spread of infections and will go a long way toward making ambulance rides safer for all involved.

Have a question or comment? Email bioterr@slu.edu