Baycrest

NEXT PRACTICE "The conversion chart will allow for cross-talk between the geriatric medical teams and the palliative care teams and allow a common lan- guage for evaluating patients. We would like this to be developed at Baycrest, and then shared with medical teams and palliative care teams across the province," says Dr. Grossman. Her collaborators on the project are Drs. Jurgis Karuza, Paul Katz, Gary Naglie, Cindy Grief, Thirumagal Yogaparan and Giulia Perri, advanced practice nurse Sue Calabrese, Palliative Care clinical manager Maria Deleon, research assistant Mark Wittenberg, Dr. Shafagh Fallah (KLAERU), and collaborators from the Palliative Care consult team at Sunnybrook Hospital. New method for preventing MRSA infection Bacteria resistant to antibiotics, such as methicillin resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA), have become a patient safety concern for health-care organizations around the world. MRSA is a com- mon cause of skin and soft tissue infections, and serious ailments such as pneumonia. With support from KLAERU, Baycrest's Infection Prevention and Control team is evaluating the effectiveness of a new method of preventing and controlling the spread of MRSA in a geriatric setting. In a pilot study, Baycrest introduced disposable, antiseptic cloths containing two per cent clorhexi- dine gluconate (CHG) to bathe patients daily as a method of reducing MRSA in the Acute Care and Transition (ACT) unit. This innovative infection con- trol method, recently designated by Accreditation Canada as a leading practice, showed a promising 89 per cent reduction in the incidence of MRSA transmission in six months and an 82 per cent reduction over 33 months. Planning is underway to expand the study to a much larger group of patients in Baycrest's 92-bed Complex Continuing Care program. "Having the support of KLAERU is extremely helpful to us in our effort to expand this into a full- fledged clinical trial. We want to rigorously evaluate whether this method is as effective in reducing and reversing MRSA transmission on the Complex Continuing Care floors as on the ACT Unit," says Chingiz Amirov, director of Infection Prevention and Control at Baycrest. "This may prove to be a simple and effective solution that could have a major impact on the quality of care across hospitals in Canada." Piloting an interprofessional education toolkit The Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging is developing and implementing an inter- professional education and care (IPE/C) toolkit for health professionals and students. With support from KLAERU, the research team is analyzing and interpreting statistical data and other feedback from pilot workshops conducted with staff and students from five clinical programs. "KLAERU is helping us measure how effective the toolkit is in supporting interprofessional collaboration. We hope it will be a springboard for integrating IPE/C into practice at Baycrest. The goal is to improve collaboration and the quality of care delivered," says Faith Boutcher, director of Academic Education. 89% REDUCTION IN THE INCIDENCE OF MRSA TRANSMISSION ON ONE UNIT IN SIX MONTHS, DUE TO NEW, INNOVATIVE INFECTION CONTROL METHOD In a pilot study, Baycrest introduced disposable, antiseptic cloths containing two per cent clorhexidine gluconate (CHG) to bathe patients daily as a method of reducing MRSA in the Acute Care and Transition (ACT) Unit. This innovative infection control method, recently designated by Accreditation Canada as a leading practice, showed a promising 89 per cent reduction in the incidence of MRSA transmission in six months and an 82 per cent reduction over 33 months. 2011/12 Baycrest and Baycrest Foundation Annual Report 13

• Cover