Patient Quality
Infection Prevention
Aspen Valley Health is committed to reducing the risk of hospital-acquired infections and has achieved a very low infection rate. We comply with CDC guidelines for infection prevention, as well as abiding by the recommendations and standards of other regulatory organizations.
How We Protect You
Infection Prevention
Hospital Standards
The Aspen Valley Health Infection Prevention Specialist is tasked with active measures to prevent illness in people receiving or giving care.
- All staff and attending personnel are involved in infection prevention.
- Patient infection risk factors are observed on a continual basis, through communication with physicians and nurses, as well as lab results and chart reviews.
- Sterilizers have infection checks with every load to maintain sterility of equipment and instruments.
- Isolation and masks, gowns and gloves are utilized to keep known infection from circulating outside of a patient’s room, which could potentially expose other patients, staff members or visitors.
- Employees comply with immunization practices to help ensure optimal health while caring for patients.
- Visitor policies assist to keep community infections outside of the facility.
- Constant vigilance helps assure an environment is as contamination-free as possible.
- Drug resistance in the community is monitored through microorganism and medication use reports.
- Aspen Valley Health infection statistics are sent to various quality organizations for comparison to healthcare facilities within the state of Colorado and throughout the nation.
- The Aspen Valley Health Infection Control Committee reviews all infection prevention statistics and related procedures/policies, implementing change as needed.
Infection Prevention Tips
What can you do to avoid an infection while at Aspen Valley Health?
- Ask your healthcare provider to clean his/her hands before treating you.
- Before your doctor or nurse uses a stethoscope to listen to your chest, ask that it be wiped with alcohol.
- If you are planning to have surgery, stop smoking well in advance of having the procedure.
- Wash your hands frequently, and avoid touching your hands to your mouth or eyes.
- Ask your friends and relatives not to visit if they feel ill.
- Ask visitors to clean their hands and avoid sitting on your bed.
- Let us know, by phone or post-visit questionnaire, if you saw unsafe practices while at our facility.
- Don’t be afraid to speak up!
What can you do to prevent infections every day?
- Practice good hygiene.
- Keep your hands clean by washing with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered until healed.
- Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages.
- Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.