3M Teams With AORN, IAHCSMM, SIS and Practice Greenhealth to Ignite OneTogether Movement

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Novel, collaborative effort in fight against HAIs
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(Business Wire)--
3M Infection Prevention and founding partners, Association of periOperative
Registered Nurses (AORN), International Association of Healthcare Central
Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), the Surgical Infection Society (SIS), and
Practice Greenhealth have joined together to form OneTogether: The Power of
Small Actions, a multi-year program with the goal of driving individual small
actions to collectively generate a significant impact on the incidence of
healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The OneTogether program is designed to
amplify individual actions, support collaborative opportunities and engage a
network of professionals working toward the same goal.

"While the healthcare community is making progress in reducing the occurrence of
HAIs, still nearly 100,000 people will die this year in the United States from
preventable HAIs, and one in 20 patients will contract an HAI while
hospitalized," said Debra Rectenwald, president and general manager of 3M`s
Infection Prevention Division. "These statistics are troubling. That`s why 3M is
forming OneTogether along with our founding partners. We hope other
organizations and individuals will join in this important effort."

The OneTogether initiative seeks to empower healthcare professionals to bring
sustained behaviors to their organizations and elevate the infection prevention
conversation within the broader healthcare community.

"To eliminate HAIs, we need to try a new approach, as well as work across teams
to make a difference at every level," said Linda Groah, CEO/executive director
of AORN. "OneTogether offers all of us a chance to unite, share what`s working
and reinforce how every little action we take can have a major impact on patient
safety."

OneTogether is built from the E3 platform detailed in the Educate‚ Empower‚
Engage: A Collaborative Interdisciplinary Call to Action for Reducing Surgical
Site Infection whitepaper, published in 2012 and based on work done at the
fourth annual Infection Prevention Leadership Summit. Based on the E3 platform,
an independent advisory panel of 35 passionate healthcare professionals with a
diverse spectrum of medical expertise was established to guide and shape the
movement.

"The Central Service Department is an integral and yet often under-leveraged
ally in the fight against HAIs," said Susan Adams, Executive Director of
IAHCSMM. "Our membership is passionate about their role in ensuring safe patient
care. We welcome the OneTogether initiative as an opportunity to team with a
coalition of associations and individuals from many functions to share insights
and develop new approaches to HAI reduction."

One approach of the OneTogether effort is to highlight what is working well in
healthcare facilities. During AORN`s annual meeting, OneTogether is offering
"Pay it Forward" cards for healthcare providers to provide real-time recognition
to colleagues for the small actions that help keep patients safe from HAIs. The
pocket-sized thank-you cards will be available in the 3M booth (#3721)
throughout the meeting (March 4-7), along with more information on the
OneTogether movement.

Healthcare providers can get more information about OneTogether by visiting
www.joinonetogether.org and are encouraged to join the OneTogether LinkedIn
community. Professional organizations interested in joining 3M, AORN, and other
partner organizations in the OneTogether movement can learn more by visiting
www.joinonetogether.org.

About 3M Infection Prevention

3M Infection Prevention Division is truly on a mission to help reduce
healthcare-associated infections through its infection prevention solutions.
With its system of people, products and processes, 3M remains a trusted partner
committed to helping hospitals reduce the risk of infections, improve patient
outcomes and control their bottom lines. Learn more at
www.3m.com/infectionprevention.

About AORN

AORN represents the interests of more than 160,000 perioperative nurses by
providing nursing education, standards and practice resources - including the
peer-reviewed, monthly publication AORN Journal - to enable optimal outcomes for
patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures. AORN`s 42,000
registered nurse members manage, teach and practice perioperative nursing, are
enrolled in nursing education or are engaged in perioperative research.
www.aorn.org

About IAHCSMM

The International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management
is the premier association for professionals in healthcare central
service/materiel management. IAHCSMM provides structural educational
opportunities, professional development and a forum for information exchange to
more than 19,000 members worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.iahcsmm.org.

About SIS

The Surgical Infection Society (SIS) was organized in 1980 and is an
organization of physicians, scientists and other health care professionals. The
mission of the Surgical Infection Society is to educate health care providers
and the public about infection in surgical patients and promote research in the
understanding, prevention and management of surgical infections. SIS organizes
an annual meeting for the purpose of presenting accepted and award-winning
research abstracts, papers and posters. The meeting is centered around the
scientific sessions, which function as a forum for exchange of information and
ideas and for networking with surgeons at all levels. In addition to member
research, SIS publishes position papers and guidelines relating to the treatment
of surgical infection in an effort to communicate and educate the greater
medical science and clinical community. For more information, see www.sisna.org.

About Practice Greenhealth

Practice Greenhealth is the nation`s leading membership and networking
organization for institutions in health care that have made a commitment to
sustainable, environmentally friendly practices. To learn more about Practice
Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.

3M
Janna Fischer, 651-736-5824
jfischer@mmm.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Jennifer Westphal, 816-512-2241
jennifer.westphal@fleishman.com

Copyright Business Wire 2013