Re: PICC infections

[Pmpjkg]

are you saying that your IV team did every IV medication?  hourly pain meds, as well as all the K supplements, TPN, and everything???  how many nurses were employed on that IV team and what was your total census?  i cannot imagine covering a 550 inpatient tertiary care center and handling every IV medication.  did you also draw all the bloods and change all the dressings?  and manage to get PICCs inserted too?  i agree that too many hands in the PICC action increases the risks of infection, but i also know that there is no way my partner and myself can handle everything that you managed to do.  we have to keep our head above water just to get the lines inserted.  would i love a vascular access team?  absolutely!  is that a reality in the near future?  probably not.  it is a long process.  my focus right now is education!!!!  proper care and management of the lines until the time that a vascular access team is a reality.  and if i can educate one nurse at a time, i am happy.  we are working to get a team in place, but budget constraints are always an issue.  for the time being, we are educating, educating and educating.    Vascular Access Clinician Albany Medical Center Hospital New Scotland Ave. Albany, New York 12208 [EMAIL PROTECTED]