Special Edition on Infection Prevention & Control | Page 27

Back to Basics
for HAI
Prevention
and Control
By Kelly M. Pyrek
While infection preventionists from all healthcare-delivery
sites continue to battle SARS-CoV-2, it is imperative to
be grounded in the basics of infection prevention and control
(IP&C) and not lose sight of other pathogens of concern.
We provide several resources that merit a review on a regular
basis, particularly for new practitioners.
CDC’s Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices
In an effort to assist healthcare facilities with adhering to
evidence-based strategies for IP&C, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Core Infection
Prevention and Control Practices for Safe Healthcare Delivery
in All Settings - Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection
Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). These core
practices represent the most important infection control
interventions necessary to keep both patients and healthcare
staff safe from infectious pathogens.
1. Leadership Support
● Ensure that the governing body of the healthcare facility
or organization is accountable for the success of infection
prevention activities.
● Allocate sufficient human and material resources to
infection prevention to ensure consistent and prompt action
to remove or mitigate infection risks and stop transmission of
infections. Ensure that staffing and resources do not prevent
nurses, environmental staff, et. al., from consistently adhering
to infection prevention and control practices.
● Assign one or more qualified individuals with training
in infection prevention and control to manage the facility’s
infection prevention program.
● Empower and support the authority of those managing
the infection prevention program to ensure effectiveness of
the program.
● To be successful, infection prevention programs require
visible and tangible support from all levels of the healthcare
facility’s leadership
2. Education and Training of Healthcare Personnel on
Infection Prevention
● Provide job-specific, infection prevention education and
training to all healthcare personnel for all tasks.
● Develop processes to ensure that all healthcare personnel
understand and are competent to adhere to infection prevention
requirements as they perform their roles and responsibilities.
● Provide written infection prevention policies and procedures
that are available, current, and based on evidence-based
guidelines.
● Require training before individuals perform their duties
and at least annually as a refresher.
● Provide additional training in response to recognized
lapses in adherence and to address newly recognized infection
transmission threats (e.g., introduction of new equipment or
procedures).
● Training should be adapted to reflect the diversity of the
workforce and the type of facility and tailored to meet the
needs of each category of healthcare personnel being trained.
3. Patient, Family and Caregiver Education
● Provide appropriate infection prevention education to
patients, family members, visitors, and others included in the
caregiving network.
● Include information about how infections are spread,
how they can be prevented, and what signs or symptoms
should prompt reevaluation and notification of the patient’s
healthcare provider. Instructional materials and delivery should
address varied levels of education, language comprehension,
and cultural diversity.
4. Performance Monitoring and Feedback
● Monitor adherence to infection prevention practices and
infection control requirements.
● Provide prompt, regular feedback on adherence and
related outcomes to healthcare personnel and facility leadership.
● Train performance monitoring personnel and use
standardized tools and definitions.
● Monitor the incidence of infections that may be related
to care provided at the facility and act on the data and use
information collected through surveillance to detect transmission
of infectious agents in the facility.
● Performance measures should be tailored to the care
activities and the population served.
5. Standard Precautions
● Use Standard Precautions to care for all patients in all
settings. Standard Precautions include: Hand hygiene; environmental
cleaning and disinfection; injection and medication
safety; risk assessment with use of appropriate personal
protective equipment (e.g., gloves, gowns, face masks) based
www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com • IP&C Special Edition June 2020
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