Lisa Baum, MA,  presents "A view from the Frontlines: The current state of infection control in U.S. healthcare facilities". Health Watch USA(sm) 2025 Webinar: Combating Infectious Disease Challenges. Aug. 29, 2025.
 
Lisa Baum, a lead representative for the New York State Nurses Association, highlighted persistent issues in infection control within healthcare facilities, emphasizing the spread of nosocomial infections including airborne infectious diseases. Despite improvements, infection rates and associated deaths remain high, exacerbated by underreporting and insufficient data—particularly for airborne diseases.

Critical contributing factors include understaffing, rapid room turnovers, inadequate
cleaning, inadequate ventilation and lack of training on effective use of disinfectants, such as proper dwell time for pathogen elimination. Environmental services staff shortages and overcrowding in emergency departments further increase transmission risks, with patients sometimes placed in hallways or separated only by curtains. Ventilation is a recurring concern. While negative pressure rooms and advanced local exhaust systems exist; they are not widely implemented. There is inadequate regulation and the regulations that do exist are not adequately enforced.

Personal protective equipment (PPE), though essential, is not the most effective control in the hierarchy, often hampered by supply chain challenges and improper fit. The pandemic revealed deeper systemic flaws, with crisis measures sometimes prioritizing operational needs over safety.

Lisa advocates for layered controls: improved identification and isolation protocols,
robust testing, enhanced staffing, better ventilation, and a shift to reusable PPE. She stresses the necessity of regulatory reforms to ensure consistent and effective infection prevention and supports empowering organizations like NIOSH to restore scientific leadership in occupational health.

YouTube Video:  https://youtu.be/1Aa5AhHU0JA 
 
Health Watch USA^sm Webinar, Combating Infectious Disease Challenges. Have we gone twenty steps forward or backwards?  Aug. 29, 2025  Download Slides
   
Presentations from additional countries can be viewed at:  https://www.healthwatchusa.org/conference2025/index.html