Infection Prevention & Control
About Us
The safety and health of our patients is very important to us. The goal of our Infection Prevention and Control program is to identify and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections. We accomplish this by various methods including:
- Surveillance
- Education
- Collaboration
- Infection Control Committee
Surveillance
We monitor the hospital for infections and diseases that affect the health of our patients, staff, and visitors. Our role includes making informed decisions about patient placement; performing data analysis; and providing feedback results to staff that implement quality improvements.
Control measures are initiated when clusters of infections in patients or employees are identified by surveillance. Outbreak Management procedures are implemented at the direction of our Infection Control Committee and Medical Director.
Education
We provide education for our patients, visitors and volunteers about common infections. Our hospital staff is provided with a mandatory infection control orientation session as new employees and once every two years.
Collaboration
Through collaboration with other programs and services within our hospital we assist in the safe development of day-to-day hospital life. Some examples of collaborative initiatives include:
- Involvement of construction/renovation designs and plans
- Review and recommendation of disinfectants and sterilization of medical equipment and environmental cleaning protocols
- Roll-out of Flu Shot campaign with Occupational Health & Safety department for hospital staff
- Policy and procedure development
We know that your healthcare may extend beyond Sunnybrook into other healthcare settings and for this reason we have developed strong relationships with other hospitals/facilities as well as Toronto Public Health. We want to ensure your safety continues across the healthcare continuum.
Infection Control Committee
Our Committee meets on a regular basis to ensure we are keeping our patients safe. We review all elements of our Infection Control program and strive for continuous improvement.
