Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

8 INFECTION CONTROL Sutter hospital fined $155K over infection control violations after nurse's death By Mackenzie Bean C alifornia health officials have fined Oakland, Calif.-based Alta Bates Summit Medical Center $155,250 over workplace infection control standards, the California Nurses Association said March 19. e state's division of occupational safety and health investigated the medical center, part of the Sutter Health network, aer hospital nurse Janine Paiste-Ponder, RN, died of COVID-19 last July. "We know that Janine became ill when she ran aer two Covid positive patients who were in the hallways because she feared that they would infect other patients or staff," said Paula Lyn, RN, a nurse at Alta Bates Summit and a board member of the California Nurses Association, which rep- resents nurses at the hospital. "Because the hospital had locked up N95 respirators, and Janine was wearing only a surgical mask as per hospital policy, she was exposed and became ill." e state's OSHA division issued eight citations to Alta Bates Summit for violating numerous state infectious disease control standards. e citations included failure to ensure COVID-19 patients were properly isolated, failure to provide N95 masks to nurses who worked on Ms. Paiste-Ponder's unit and improperly requiring nurses to reuse N95 masks. Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health said it disagrees with the state's findings and immediately appealed the citations. "None of the findings are specific to the passing of our beloved colleague," a spokesperson for the system told Becker's in March. "We continue to mourn her loss and are disappointed that her memory is being used for political gain." n ProMedica hospital adds UV light disinfection robot By Mackenzie Bean P roMedica Toledo (Ohio) Hospital has tapped a sanitizing robot to help disinfect its operating rooms and neurological intensive care unit, the hospital said in March. The robot emits broad spectrum ultraviolet light to quickly destroy microor- ganisms on hospital surfaces and can deactivate SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — in two minutes. ProMedica said the robot also uses cloud technology to report such metrics as who last handled the device, how long it ran and which rooms have been disinfected. The robot was funded through ProMedica's risk management grant program, which supports the addition of new technologies to improve patient out- comes and employee safety. n Why next flu season may be severe By Gabrielle Masson L ow levels of flu activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more challenging for experts developing next season's flu shot to predict which strains will predominate next winter, Politico reported March 25. Without a strong enough vaccine, the U.S. could face a severe flu season. COVID-19 safety measures helped nearly eradicate this year's season, with a flu hospitalization rate for 2020-21 of just 0.7 per 100,000 people — the lowest rate since the CDC began collecting such data in 2005. Without COVID-19 precautions, there could be new flu strains circulating that scientists didn't anticipate, said Cody Meissner, MD, infectious dis- ease specialist and pediatrician at Boston-based Tufts Children's Hospital and panelist for the FDA's independent vaccine advisory committee. "We may have a combination of low public health measures at the popula- tion level with a low effectiveness vaccine," said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown University. "And then so you might have a raging flu season next year." The low levels of the virus this season were still enough for the FDA com- mittee to pick strains for the upcoming vaccine, said Paul Offit, MD, a vac- cine expert at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania and member of the FDA advisory panel. Dr. Offit said he is not worried about the vac- cine for next fall. Mr. Gostin said pandemic fatigue could have people ditching masking and social distancing just in time for the flu, referring back to the 1918 flu pandemic. "What happened was the roaring '20s," Mr. Gostin told Politico. "People started congregating, mingling, hugging, kissing. All the things they missed. … That's what's likely to happen this fall and that makes the influenza virus very happy." n

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