On Apic.org there is a discussion about keyboards in the hospital. They list out good practices for keeping keyboards clean in a hospital setting. We also have advice on this topic:

“Dear Lisa & Nancy,

The list you provided is an excellent summary of suggested procedures, however a fully-sealed keyboard should be used in patient rooms, care areas and OR suites so that organic matter and pathogens are blocked from entering the “under-key” areas of standard open keyboards.  These create impossible to clean propagation zones resulting in substantial cross-contamination risk even when following germicidal wipe-down procedures.  Fully sealed keyboards, mice and touchpads can be more completely disinfected with a “Spray-Wipe-Spray” method between patients or when sharing a mobile computer among rooms.

We work closely with infection control professionals every day to advise which sealed keyboards & mice are most appropriate for their specific medical or food safety application.  There are over 150 different waterproof keyboards for medical use in the market today ranging from $19 to $450 and it can be utterly bewildering.  To help you and EHR/IT professionals with their product research, we’ve condensed this into an organized list of the most appropriate models from the top 7 manufacturers of sanitary typing products on SaniType.com.  Contact our customer service team directly to get more information – they’ve advised most of the top hospital systems in 17 countries and counting.”

The American Journal of Infection Control, the publication of APIC, has released a report citing that 15% of US nursing homes received citations for deficiency in infection control. The study used data from 2000-20007 and analyzed 96% of US nursing homes.

Lack of infection control – fostering an environment for infections- is the leading cause of mortality in nursing homes.

WETKEYS washable keyboards help infection control because they can be easily cleaned between users. This cuts down on cross-contamination. Help spread the word today on washable keyboards!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released information on a new act that aims to improve healthcare. Some points from the National Quality Strategy are below:

• Better Care: Improve the overall quality, by making health care more patient-centered, reliable, accessible, and safe.
• Healthy People and Communities: Improve the health of the U.S. population by supporting proven interventions to address behavioral, social, and environmental determinants of health in addition to delivering higher-quality care.

• Affordable Care: Reduce the cost of quality health care for individuals, families, employers, and government.

APIC backed the resolution with its own response.

WETKEYS is helping provide a safer place for the healthcare industry. Our medical-grade, washable keyboards can be disinfected between users to cut down on HAIs. Not only can outfitting a hospital with our keyboards keep people healthier, it is a true cost-saver over time.

Visit WETKEYS.com today to see how our sanitary keyboards can help the healthcare industry today!

The CDC released a Vital Signs report stating that CLABSIs have declined in the ICU in 2009 compared to 2001. This is a step in the right direction. APIC.org also gave its response to the CDC’s Vital Signs report.

Although there has been improvement in the ICU, there is still much work to be done in the non-critical areas. WETKEYS.com products can help in these areas. Our Santiype products are designed for sanitary typing and can be cleaned between users. Together, we can make HAIs and CLABSIs a thing of the past!

From LinkedIn:

Hello all!

Check out this HAI website devoted to keeping you up to date on HAI news. You can sign up to receive updates on the main page.

HAIs cost the health care industry tons of money each year and there are many organizations out there that are trying to build awareness of the issue (apic.org, infectioncontroltoday, etc).

WETKEYS.com is doing our part by manufacturing sanitary typing keyboards for the medical industry. In time, we can make HAIs a thing of the past.

It’s time to start gearing up to HIMSS 11.

The annual Health IT conference will take place Feb 20-24 in Orlando, FL. It is a great event to network at, get educated and encourage progress.

Just like at CES, you will be able to find waterproof, washable keyboards at the event. And if you want to get your sanitary keyboard before HIMSS, you can go to WETKEYS.com and choose from our wide selection.

The WHO just released the results of its study on HAIs in developing countries compared to Europe/USA.

The press release on this matter states that in the developed nations there is better tracking, more safety protocols and better procedures in place to cut down on HAIs.

In the mission to cut down on HAIs universally, WETKEYS.com carries the largest selection of waterproof washable keyboards on the Web. Get yours today!

Hello all!

The CDC wrote a nice piece on the importance of implementing cleaning programs for “high touch” areas. This means places like keyboard terminals where the general public shares the same keyboard with everyone else. Here is a clip from the article:

“In view of the evidence that transmission of many healthcare acquired pathogens (HAPs) is related to contamination of near-patient surfaces and equipment, all hospitals are encouraged to develop programs to optimize the thoroughness of high touch surface cleaning as part of terminal room cleaning at the time of discharge or transfer of patients. ”

We encourage everyone to read the entire article on Evaluating Environmental Cleaning in regards to high touch areas.

You can also visit WETKEYS.com to get your personal waterproof and disinfectable keyboard so you can implement a personal cleaning plan just like the CDC recommends for hospitals.

Hospitals need to be extremely stable environments, and strict hygiene protocols are enforced at all times to maintain an uncompromised test center.

WETKEYS vendor, iKey, makes keyboards that are designed with disinfection in mind. The durable rubber can withstand bleach cleaning or a pressure wash. Low-profile keys and a completely sealed design make cleaning a quick and efficient process – simply wipe or spray down the site.

WETKEYS recommends: iKey medical input devices for all your hospital keyboard needs.

iKey Medical… input iKey, output Prevention!