Published in

Journal of the Korean Medical Association, 9(63), p. 574-580, 2020

DOI: 10.5124/jkma.2020.63.9.574

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Activities of an infection control surveillance-working group for the infection control and prevention of COVID-19

Journal article published in 2020 by Ui Yoon Choi ORCID, Young Mi Kwon ORCID, Jung Hyun Choi ORCID, Jehoon Lee ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.

Full text: Unavailable

Question mark in circle
Preprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Postprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Published version: policy unknown

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unlikely to end soon, and hospitals face a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and nosocomial infections. Therefore, strengthened infection control and prevention (ICP) strategies are crucial. Here, we share our experience of activities implemented by an infection control surveillance-working group (ICS-WG) and the introduction of a hospital emergency code for patients requiring screening for COVID-19, which were established at a university-affiliated hospital. This hospital applies multi-step processes to identify patients who must visit the outdoor screening clinic for COVID-19 testing, instead of entering the hospital building. However, some of these patients inevitably end up inside the hospital building. To solve this issue, we implemented a process to announce the emergency code (“code apple”) and have the medical personnel escort such patients to the outdoor screening clinic. This process was useful in protecting the hospital from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. The ICS-WG was assigned to conduct the surveillance of ICP practices, patrol the hospital, and recommend improvements for any practices that did not adhere to the guidelines. The ICS-WG also developed a checklist as a monitoring tool for ICP practices. The checklists were distributed to the infection control coordinators who were assigned to monitor their team’s ICP practices and report to the ICS-WG. Overall, we believe that code apple and the ICS-WG are effective strategies in improving ICP practices of COVID-19 at hospitals.