Study Proves Gum Mastic Liquid Adhesive Enhances LVAD Dressing Integrity Heart failure is a growing public health issue, and for those with advanced or end-stage heart failure, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are a true technological lifeline. Alongside heart transplants, LVADs have become the standard of care for patients with advanced heart failure, serving as…
Hospital Onset Bacteremia (HOB): Let’s Talk About ReportingGuest Author: Michelle DeVries MPH, CIC, VA-BC, CPHQ, FAPIC For several years there has been a lot of chatter about potential future expansion of bloodstream infection surveillance to move beyond only Central Line-Associated Bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and expand to include all hospital onset bacteremia (HOB). As this gets…
Wednesday Workshop Summary: Growing a Vascular Access Specialty Team (VAST) – One Step at a Time A vascular access specialist model has proven to reduce healthcare acquired complications including catheter-associated infections.1 A specialty team approach also is supported by evidence-based guidelines.2 Despite the evidence for improved patient safety, not all hospitals have a dedicated Vascular…
Vascular Access Device Pistoning: The Problem and SolutionGuest Author: Michelle (Mickey) Hawes, RN, DNP, CRNI, VA-BC, ACRP-CP Pistoning is a term used in the vascular access specialty to describe the small, repeated movement of a peripheral vascular access device (PVAD) or central venous access device (CVAD) in and out at the insertion site. Movement may…
Nurses Love Tape But It Can Be A Sticky Situation To Remove It Medical adhesive products are a critical tool in healthcare. Across virtually every medical specialty, the use of adhesives facilitates better securement of dressings and medical devices. Proper device securement is particularly important in vascular access, where the overarching goal is to provide…
How to Perform an LVAD Driveline Dressing Change The following steps summarize how to perform a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) driveline dressing change with use of Mastisol® Liquid Adhesive and Detachol® Adhesive Remover, as demonstrated by Abigail Vowels, RN, BSN. Vowels is the Circulatory Device Program Leader at Dignity Health/Mercy General Hospital. In this…
As 2022 ends, we would like to thank you for reading the Eloquest Healthcare Blog! We hope you have found our posts during the last 12 months to be both informative and impactful to your professional career. Here are some of the past year’s highlights that we invite you to visit… One of our favorite…
The Importance of Skin Integrity Maintaining skin integrity is an important part of infection prevention throughout patient care. Skin is the body’s first line of defense, acting as a barrier to prevent harmful bacteria from entering the body. When this barrier is disrupted, pathogens can enter through the site of injury and cause infections.1 Skin…
Midline Catheters: Past, Present and Future Midline catheters are multi-faceted devices that offer the potential for reduced complication rates compared to other vascular access options. Midline catheters may be appropriate for venous access in patients who: Need prolonged IV therapy Have challenging vascular anatomy due to age or medical history Recent dynamics in the healthcare…
Eloquest Healthcare is excited to welcome back Jo Ann Brooks PhD, RN, FAAN, FCCP to the Eloquest Healthcare Blog! Dr. Jo Ann Brooks is a Healthcare Quality Consultant who retired in 2018 from Indiana University Health where she was System Vice President of Quality & Safety. In this role, she was responsible for oversight of…