CHICA Nova Scotia Spring Newsletter As we spring into April, we thought it would be timely to update members with a Newsletter. We hope that this will be an effective communication tool to keep us in touch. Mark your calendar - Our next meeting is April 21/06 @ 12pm in Halifax at the VG Site, 5th floor Dickson Building in the Weather Watch Room. A light lunch will be provided. As requested, following the business meeting, the Education Committee is planning a Question and Discussion session. This will be an excellent opportunity for members to share information and experiences. President’s Message Over the last year, Infection Prevention and Control has been under much scrutiny and in the news! There has been significant public interest and a definite rise in our visibility. This has been and continues to be an opportunity for Infection Control Practitioners to move their programs forward and make progress with our objectives. ICANS has had a very successful year, including a 62% increase in membership, the second most significant increase within CHICA- Canada. Many new practitioners have joined the ranks and it is terrific to see so many keen and energetic new members! On behalf of our membership, Best Wishes are extended to Juanita Madison and Maureen Hull on their retirements. ICANS had a fabulous turn out in Winnipeg this year with 12 members attending! It was my first conference as a Chapter President and very enlightening. Although exhausted from the meetings, I was honored to represent ICANS and participate. I have become better informed on CHICA’s work and future endeavors. I hope that I have been successful in sharing that with the membership. During 2005, two very successful education days were held – a Novice Education day in April and the annual Provincial Education Day in October. Participation and feedback was very positive. A devoted Education Committee, under the guidance of Kim Allain and Faith Stoll, did a fantastic job. Several educational sessions were held following the regularly scheduled meetings. Also, during meetings random draws were held for infection-control related texts and a CHICA 2006 membership fee. An MRSA Provincial working group has been developed and work is progressing. Along with provincial-wide membership, input is received from most levels of the healthcare continuum. The Department of Health is aware of our endeavors and has sent a letter of support. We continue to lobby the DOH for support and assistance in meeting our goals. As the result of a unanimous vote held in September, the chapter was renamed CHICA Nova Scotia, effective January 1, 2006. As a chapter of a national organization, it is hoped our association will receive greater visibility. A CHICA Nova Scotia web page is currently under development, thanks to Lori Jessome, CHICA N.S.’s very own webmaster. I feel our association is making great strides in providing our members with the support and opportunities they deserve. Meeting attendance is excellent and the networking and comradeship very evident. As Chapter President, I will continue to do my best to represent CHICA Nova Scotia on the local, provincial and national stages! Elizabeth Watson RN BScN CIC Membership information It is getting easier all the time to join CHICA N.S. Go to either http://www.chica.org/ and click to the right side of the page for membership or directly to http://www.chica.org/join.html Your membership includes: Subscription to the Canadian Journal of Infection Control Annual Member and Source Guide Professional exchange of ideas Access to CBIC certification Local Chapter activities and support Development of infection control standards Reduced registration fees for annual conference and other educational offerings Access to Members Only section of the website www.chica.org Broadcast emails, providing timely infection control updates Access to on-line distance education CHICA N.S. Meetings are held in September, November, February, April, and June from 1200 until 1500 hours in Halifax and provide a great opportunity to meet other people working in infection control and to ask questions of other experts. In October, there is an annual conference that continues to grow in popularity each year and as a member you receive a discount. As a member of CHICA N.S, there are funding opportunities for conferences If you have questions, please feel free to contact Patsy Rawding, Membership Director at 424-8254 or cell 430-2169 or email: prawdin@gov.ns.ca Education Committee The Education Committee has been hard at work! In addition to planning the regular education sessions for our meetings, the committee has begun working on the annual Education Day. The date is set: Friday, October 20th - based on your feedback, the venue remains unchanged (Holiday Inn Dartmouth). Why mess with a good thing, right? Topics and speakers are to be determined. However, selections will be made with this year’s National Infection Control Week theme in mind, “Infection Prevention: Planning for Tomorrow”. The Education Committee selected six applicants to receive $500 in funding assistance to attend the upcoming CHICA Canada National Conference in London, Ontario, this May. The successful applicants were: Faith Stoll, Suzanne RhodenizerRose, Lori Jessome, Sheila Richardson & Rhonda Lush. Colleen Boyd was the recipient of $500 funding assistance toward the cost of her attendance at the Centennial College Infection Prevention & Control course in Toronto. For those who are interested in online courses, check out the CHICA Canada website www.chica.org where you will find links to online courses offered at the University of Calgary, Queen’s University (Kingston), University of British Columbia (Vancouver) and Centennial College (Toronto). Finally, there have been some changes to the Education Committee membership. First, we say a fond farewell and best wishes to Kim Allain who will soon be enjoying her maternity leave. Thanks Kim for all your hard work, leadership and dedication you have shown in your role of education committee co-chair. Lori Jessome has stepped in to replace Kim. Lori and Faith Stoll will be the committee co-chairs. We along with the other members of the committee (Arlene Schmeisser, Patsy Rawding, Barb Caulfield, Debby Goulding, Suzanne RhodenizerRose & Linda Stoddart) are looking forward to planning your upcoming education events. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let us know! Cheers! Faith & Lori MRSA Working Group Update The MRSA working group is getting down to brass tacks by developing evidenced-based recommendations for acute and long-term care settings! The larger group has broken into three subcommittees to address three priority areas: Isolation Subcommittee chaired by Colleen Boyd Screening Subcommittee chaired by Suzanne Rhodenizer Rose Education Subcommittee chaired by Faith Stoll As each subcommittee develops its guidelines, presentations will be made to the working group and forwarded to the membership for review. Dr. Jeff Scott and the Infectious Disease Advisory Committee, attended by both Patsy Rawding and Suzanne Rhodenizer Rose, have expressed a very keen interest in the outcome of the working group and are hopeful the province will adopt the guidelines. Although the intent of the working group is to provide MRSA management guidance within the membership, this is a great opportunity for CHICA-Nova Scotia to establish its expertise in the field on Infection Prevention & Control with the rest of the province! Submitted by: Suzanne Rhodenizer Rose & Debby Goulding Working Group Co-chairs Provincial Consultant In June 2005, the Department of Health established a Provincial Infection Control Consultant position. This was in response to a request from the District Health Authority and the IWK (DHA/IWK) for provincial standards and guidelines to support infection control practices throughout Nova Scotia. As the Provincial Infection Control Consultant, I have a clear mandate that includes the development of an infection control framework that produces enhanced coordination and system guidelines that will promote consistency throughout Acute and Continuing Care sectors in Nova Scotia. My position provides support through consultation and collaboration for Infection Control Practitioners working in your District. I am spending the spring visiting all DHA’s/IWK and meeting with people in continuing care. Based on input gathered, a framework will be developed and reviewed by a stakeholder group. My hope is that through this process some good things will happen for Infection Control in Nova Scotia. So far I have had a very exciting and interesting start to this position. I have participated in the Public Health Agency of Canada initiatives on reprocessing of single use items and producing guidelines for community-acquired MRSA. I have worked with CCAR to develop guidelines for hygiene and asepsis for long-term care and community. I have helped develop an infection control manual for EMC and have been heavily involved in provincial pandemic planning. Please feel free to contact me, Patsy Rawding @ 424-8254 or cell 430-2169 email: prawdin@gov.ns.ca CHICA NS Executive President: Elizabeth Watson President-elect: Julia Jewett Secretary: Sheila Richardson Treasurer: Josie Ryan Membership Director: Patsy Rawding Education Committee Co-Chairs: Lori Jessome & Faith Stoll Mark your Calendar 2006 CHICA NS Meetings: April 21 June 16 Sept 15 Nov 17 Infection Control Week - October 16-20, 2006. CHICA NS Annual Education Day - October 20, 2006.