A Quality Improvement Project to Increase Hand Hygiene Opportunities for Anesthesia Providers

Hand hygiene is considered to be the far more superior method for preventing the spread of bacteria from a patient care provider to the patient (Allegranzi & Pittet, 2009; Rowlands et al., 2014; Tartari & Mamo, 2011). The addition of easily accessible hand hygiene devices to the anesthesia carts in the operating room may help to improve the opportunities for the anesthesia providers to perform hand hygiene. Hand sanitizer devices were placed on each of the eight anesthesia carts located in the surgery department of a rural hospital in south Mississippi. The devices were measured weekly for a two-week period of time, in order to determine if they were being utilized by the anesthesia providers. The final measurement was subtracted from the initial starting measurement to determine if they anesthesia providers were utilizing the devices. All eight of the hand sanitizer devices showed a decrease in the remaining contents. Email surveys were sent to the anesthesia providers to obtain feedback on this project. The anesthesia providers agreed that the hand sanitizer devices were able to improve the opportunities for them to perform hand hygiene

An inside look at Sustain Mizzou

spring 2009"The organization's president shares his experience"[Story by] Patrick Margheri

Building dashboard : using real-time web-based utility usage feedback to promote energy conservation and education in residential halls

Project Leaders: Ben Datema, Paul Coleman, Frankie Minor, Jan Weaver, Pat MargherioMU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fun

Using service learning to teach sustainable agriculture in downtown Columbia

Project Leaders: Pat Margherio, Dr. Jan Weaver, Nancy Monteer, Dr. Chris Starbuck, Bill McKelveyProposal for the project "Service Learning to Teach Sustainable Agriculture in Downtown Columbia." From the original description: "This direct action interdisciplinary project will investigate sustainability on many levels. Students will improve urban agriculture infrastructure, examine the use of bike trailers, and compost food scrap “waste” from Rollins Dining. Students will design and implement a three-year garden experiment that tests different soil treatments and crop rotations. Data will be collected with hand held computer devices."MU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fun

OCT-guided Hyaloid Release for Vitreomacular Traction Syndrome

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of OCT retinal mapping in determining the configuration of a vitreomacular adhesion and selecting a meridian for entry into the subhyaloid space in patients with vitreomacular traction syndrome. METHODS: Six consecutive patients (6 eyes) with vitreomacular traction syndrome underwent vitrectomy with peeling of posterior hyaloid. Ocular coherence tomography (OCT) retinal mapping was performed preoperatively. Access to the subhyaloid space was made by creating an opening with a 25 gauge needle at a location where the detached posterior hyaloid membrane was farthest from the retinal surface. The location was selected based on six preoperative meridional OCT scans. The posterior hyaloid was then gently peeled off in a circular fashion around the fovea with a micropick. Visual acuity and foveal thicknesses were measured before the operation and 3 months afterwards. RESULTS: After the operation, visual acuity improved and central macular thicknesses were reduced significantly in all six patients. The best corrected visual acuity improved from 0.4 to 0.75 with a mean increase by 3.5 lines on a Snellen chart 3 months after the operation. The mean foveal thickness was reduced from 406 micrometer to 241 micrometer. The restoration of foveal pit was observed in five patients. Neither intraoperative nor postoperative complications were observed during the follow up period. CONCLUSIONS: An OCT retinal mapping program is a valuable diagnostic tool in understanding the configuration of vitreomacular adhesion and planning the surgical approach for operating on vitreomacular traction syndromeope

Fatal Attraction: HIV/AIDS and Family Formation in Southern Africa

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2015University of Washington Abstract Fatal Attraction: HIV/AIDS and Family Formation in Southern Africa Cara Margherio Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Samuel Clark Sociology Stewart Tolnay Sociology This dissertation examines the complex relationships between HIV/AIDS in southern Africa and family formation processes, specifically the transition to first marriage, contraceptive usage, abortion, and first births, focusing on the experience of women. A quantitative analysis using DHS data looks at the potential mechanisms linking relatively early age at first marriage to elevated risk of HIV infection, while the qualitative analysis examines how an HIV epidemic impacts the decision-making and norms surrounding marriage and childbearing