Health-care associated infection (HAI) to be discussed at IEST Fall Conference

October 23, 2007 — /IEST News/ — ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — News coverage of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) infections in hospitals and school locker rooms, including the death of a teenager in North Carolina, has put the spotlight on nosocomial infection, commonly referred to as health-care associated infection (HAI). At the IEST Fall Conference, a tutorial, “Airborne Contamination Control in Healthcare Facilities,” will focus on this topic.

HAI is a significant problem in health-care environments around the world. In the United States alone, HAI claims nearly 100,000 lives per year and adds billions of dollars to the cost of care. And numerous factors are combining to make the struggle with HAI increasingly difficult. In what is becoming known as the post-antibiotic era, pressure is increasing to employ new methods to combat HAI. The tutorial “Airborne Contamination Control in Healthcare Facilities” will examine the magnitude of the problem, discuss contributing factors, and explain how technology developed for ultra-clean manufacturing facilities can be utilized to help reduce the incidence of HAI.

A tutorial certificate in Sterilization will also be presented to all registrants attending the tutorials “Sterilization Part I” and “Microbiology Part I and Cleaning/Disinfection.” This certificate series will cover terms and definitions of microbiology; cleaning and disinfection of equipment and surfaces in cleanrooms and other production areas; radiation and ethylene oxide, the most common sterilization methods used in the medical device industry; and testing requirements and methods, including bioburden and sterility testing, as well as validation requirements. A complimentary copy of IEST-RP-CC023.2: Microorganisms in Cleanrooms will be given to all attendees.

Online registration is available at www.iest.org/fallconference/fallconference.htm. For further information regarding IEST, visit the IEST website at www.iest.org.

About IEST
Founded in 1953, IEST is an international not-for-profit technical society of engineers, scientists, and educators that serves its members and the industries they represent (simulating, testing, controlling, and teaching the environments of earth and space) through education and the development of recommended practices and standards. IEST is an ANSI-accredited standards-developing organization; secretariat of ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments; administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 209; administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 142 Cleaning equipment for air and other gases; and a founding member of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies.

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