Background
There are so many more requirements and challenges—one of them is the CMS mandate for facilities to implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) program.

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What is Sterisis?
Infection control is a significant part of every skilled nursing facility’s daily care. SNFs work hard to ensure that their patients and staff live and work in a safe, low-risk environment. But situations develop - infections occur, hospitalizations occur, as does over-prescribing of medication, especially antibiotics.  The AMS program will give the SNF, their ownership, the REIT, the patients and their families, the community, referring hospitals, and even managed care organizations peace of mind, knowing infection prevention and control is taken very seriously.

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AMS challenges:
1) Where do SNFs find additional clinical staff, clinical leadership and infection prevention educators?
2) How do we pay for AMS?

With AMS, your AMS program gets a manager. Our Infectionist will visit your facility several times per month to perform several tasks, all of which start with the direction from you. We will train staff on proper AMS procedures and protocols, we will mentor and advise staff and clinical leadership, and always be available to your Medical Director, Attending Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Managed Care teams, pharmacy consultant, Director of Nursing, and more. Our Infectionist will work in collaboration with the facility IP to:

• • Provide education on the AMS program and promote education of staff on other infection prevention topics via AMS sponsored webinars

  • Provide consultation on infection control issues in conjunction with facility administration and surveyors as required

  • Assist with development/revision of a facility IPC risk assessment to identify priority areas for program improvement on an annual basis

  • Complete an annual IPC assessment tool created for LTC by CDC to identify strengths and areas for improvement of the program

  • Assist with the analysis of quarterly viral respiratory pathogen screening and monthly infection surveillance data based on facility methodology and criteria for an HAI

  • Assist with quarterly environmental rounds using a standardized tool and monitoring strategy

  • Assist with evaluation of products, devices or equipment related to IPC

 

A unique approach to effective AMS
What makes AMS unique is our proactive approach to identifying residents with potential viral respiratory pathogens through quarterly screening. The screening is non-invasive, requiring only a nasal swab, utilizing a 37 pathogen test panel with a 24 hour turn-around for results. The results will be available to our Infectionist who will consult with appropriate facility clinical staff and make recommendations after discussion with our Medical Director and Pharmacist. A report of the findings along with recommendations and resident follow-up will be provided to appropriate clinical staff. 

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You need a simple, effective antimicrobial stewardship program. The program has to be cost-neutral and it can’t take more of your staff’s time. You need AMS.

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