KMID : 0614720200630090574
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Journal of Korean Medical Association 2020 Volume.63 No. 9 p.574 ~ p.580
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Activities of an infection control surveillanceworking group for the infection control and prevention of COVID-19
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Choi Ui-Yoon
Kwon Young-Mi Choi Jung-Hyun Lee Je-Hoon
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Abstract
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unlikely to end soon, and hospitals face a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and nosocomial infections. Therefore, strengthened infection control and prevention (ICP) strategies are crucial. Here, we share our experience of activities implemented by an infection control surveillanceworking group (ICS-WG) and the introduction of a hospital emergency code for patients requiring screening for COVID-19, which were established at a university-affiliated hospital. This hospital applies multi-step processes to identify patients who must visit the outdoor screening clinic for COVID-19 testing, instead of entering the hospital building. However, some of these patients inevitably end up inside the hospital building. To solve this issue, we implemented a process to announce the emergency code (¡°code apple¡±) and have the medical personnel escort such patients to the outdoor screening clinic. This process was useful in protecting the hospital from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. The ICS-WG was assigned to conduct the surveillance of ICP practices, patrol the hospital, and recommend improvements for any practices that did not adhere to the guidelines. The ICS-WG also developed a checklist as a monitoring tool for ICP practices. The checklists were distributed to the infection control coordinators who were assigned to monitor their team¡¯s ICP practices and report to the ICS-WG. Overall, we believe that code apple and the ICS-WG are effective strategies in improving ICP practices of COVID-19 at hospitals.
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KEYWORD
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COVID-19, Infection control, Cross infection, Checklist
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