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Insights From APIC 2025: Key Updates on IP & C Practice and High-Consequence Pathogens
By Kelly M. Pyrek
This year’ s annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology( APIC) featured a wide variety of sessions, including the perennial updates for practice. In this issue we kick off a series of articles delving into key issues coming out of the national APIC meeting.
New and Recent Guidance for IPs
In the session,“ What’ s New with Practice Guidance in Infection Prevention and Control,” presenters Bethany Phillips, MLS( ASCP) CM, MPH, CIC, HACP-IC, FACIP, director of infection prevention at Advocate Health, and Jennifer A. Ormsby, DNP, RN, CPN, CIC, CPNP-PC, senior director of infection prevention and control at Boston Children’ s Hospital, described the current work of APIC’ s Practice Guidance Committee( PGC) and informed attendees about the latest changes in infection prevention and control impacting practice.
Jennifer Ormsby, vice chair for the practice guidance committee for AI, addressed the PGC’ s new resources released in the last year. The first group of resources addresses long-term care and includes a list of resources for infection preventionists( IPs) working in long-term care facilities( LTCFs). These resources are organized by regulatory guidelines as well as evidence-based guidelines, Ormsby explained, adding that they were designed to assist IPs who may be new to LTC and need instruction on developing policies and procedures for that setting. A second resource is a toolkit on enhanced barrier precautions( EBPs) to reduce multidrug-resistant organisms among LTC residents, featuring an updated FAQ section. A combined effort of APIC and the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing( AAPCN) resulted in a third resource, the Infection Prevention Surveillance Plan Essentials for Long-term Care, which helps long-term care facilities monitor infections and strengthen
16 • www. healthcarehygienemagazine. com • jul-aug 2025