Effective IP Starts with Strong Military Healthcare Leaders

The Importance of Military Healthcare IP Leaders

Ensuring the health of America’s military personnel, defense and homeland security staff, TSA agents, and healthcare providers is critical to the safety of our nation. The honorable Americans that serve and have served rely on military healthcare leaders to ensure their safety, especially when it comes to preventing infections. One of a military medical facility’s most useful weapons against harmful pathogens: infection prevention team leaders. While every military healthcare team member is responsible for patient safety, effective IP leaders help increase awareness and set the tone for a culture of infection prevention.

Choosing the Best IP Leader

IP leadership need not only be the most senior members of a VA, Department of Defense, or other military medical facility’s staff. To choose great people for IP leadership responsibility, look for these qualities and experience:

• They already hold leadership positions. Department heads, compliance officers, and nursing leaders are excellent candidates.
• They have clinical expertise. Years of experience and education can serve to inform staff members and equip them with the perspective necessary to head up IP strategy.
• They excel at collaboration. Successful IP strategy requires a team effort—your IP needs strong team players at the top that can set an example for all other military medical staff.
• They aren’t afraid to innovate. Military IP leadership should be willing to explore technologies that are proven effective in other healthcare environments and deploy learnings gleaned from their civilian healthcare peers. 
• They are aware of tools that best prevent infection, including UVC disinfection. IP leaders know that deploying the best UVC hospital room disinfection system can strengthen the infection prevention plan for any site that serves military personnel, defense and homeland security staff, TSA agents, and the healthcare providers that work in these facilities. 
• They understand the financial implications of effective infection prevention. Better disease prevention is proven to help save money. One study showed that a 20% reduction in C.diff cases using RD UVC could save the average hospital more than $1.3 million annually in healthcare costs; military health operations can expect similar fiscal results.

While the immediate surge and intense focus on combating the current pandemic might have eased, military healthcare leaders must be ready to combat the next infection risk while also mitigating known pathogens including MRSA, C. difficile, and the current Coronavirus strain. Every outpatient site and VA medical center should be future-proofed for today and tomorrow’s infection risks through a reassessment of processes, procedures, and IP solution investments. 

RD-UVC and RD-Fx: GS 07 F193 BA