Helmieh Aqel, CIC

Location: Saudi Arabia

Title: PCI Coordinator

Company/Organization: KSA/Riyadh/PSMMC

First Certified: August 2018

We started to realize the pandemic of Covid-19 on January 2020, we immediately adapted WHO case definition and the recommendations and was distributed thru medical administration to all hospital areas.

We immediately suggested to the administration to start task force team include the administration leaders, Infection Control, Nursing, Preventive Medicine, Family Medicine, Medical Administration, Supply, Directors of Medical, Surgical, Gyn, Peds departments.

Meeting was conducted daily to discuss all obstacles and measures needed on zoom.

This team was very great help to take on daily basis the required fast decisions.

Till today this team is going on but now on weekly basis after the condition become better and improved.

The challenges that we really faced in last year: shortage in PPE, and to solve this issue, we implemented the extended use and re-use CDC guidelines.

Education: for HCW about this new virus and was very stressful phase for the ICP’s to answer a million of concerns and questions on daily basis.

We are 1500 beds capacity with 15000 HCW 

Covered by 20 ICP’s to cover the hospital 24hours /7 ,we decided the team to 3 shifts, 7 days.

Our ICP’s were really in stress and worked very hard.

But all of our effort in Infection Control Department success because we really worked as team and the leaders of Infection Control were very supportive and even the got ever time and rewards from administration to all of our team.

Additional to above we gain to accreditation during the pandemic JCI and national (CBAHI)

We noticed that the effort of continuous tracing and audit and feed back to the areas reflects in their adherence and compliance to Infection control standards in all data showed a huge improvement!

Team work 

Team work

Team work 

Leaders support 

Helped to pass by all major obstacles 

Did CIC helped me of course without doubt 

Affect my knowledge, competency , and confidence..

Especially I am responsible to train, audit and support my ICP’s 

It really helped a lot 

When facing challenges bringing from memory what I studied from CIC and what is the best to be done.

Person that I believe he was hero during that difficult situation: Dr.Abdulrhman Al Odiani ,Infectious Disease Consultant ,Director of Infection Control Department he is knowledgeable, patient, supportive ..

He kept of encouraging us to be CIC certified.

10 from 30 in our department got CIC by his continuous encouragement and support.

His aim is to have all of our team CIC certified 

 

top