Rely on Infectious Disease Prevention at Southcoast Health
Infectious disease prevention, or infection control, aims to stop the transmission of contagious diseases in health care settings. It is closely related to epidemiology, which is the study of the causes, effects and patterns of disease in a population.
As thousands of hospital-acquired infections happen each year, infection control is necessary in all areas of health care and vital for a patient’s safety. At Southcoast Health, we offer infectious disease prevention in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island through our primary care services.
If you come down with a contagious disease or have questions about our treatment process for infection control, reach out to one our of infectious disease specialists today.
Infection Control in MA & RI from Our Specialists
When you come to a Southcoast Health location for infectious disease prevention, you will be treated by an infectious disease specialist, such as an epidemiologist, and a registered nurse.
Our process for disease control includes:
- Standard precautions: These are the minimum infection prevention measures that apply to all areas of patient care, including hand washing, covering your cough, safe injection practices, and the use of gloves, masks and gowns.
- Transmission-based precautions: These are measures above and beyond standard precautions that apply to people with known or suspected highly contagious diseases.
- Education and training: This is an ongoing process of making sure all health care facility staff are competent in infection control practices.
- Surveillance and reporting: Monitoring for outbreaks and areas for improvement, and reporting necessary data to local, state and federal agencies is critical to controlling existing outbreaks and preventing their spread to other areas.
While most of infectious disease control is done behind the scenes, patients and family members can do their part to prevent disease from spreading. Doing simple things like washing your hands or covering your cough can help stop a disease from circulating around the hospital. In addition, don’t be shy about protecting your own health by reminding family, friends and even health care providers to wash or sanitize their hands.
Southcoast Health has high standards for infection and disease control at our hospitals and primary care locations in Fall River, Swansea, Dartmouth, Westport, New Bedford, Wareham, MA and surrounding areas of Rhode Island, including Middletown, Portsmouth and Tiverton.