An Ounce of Prevention

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

The COVID-19 pandemic was both exhausting and informative. Although it’s temping to move away from infection control work, it provided us with an opportunity to be better prepared for the next, inevitable, event. As we face the resurgence of diseases like RSV and Measles or new threats like H5N1, organizations may want to revisit recommendations for infection control in outpatient settings.

Since 2020, multiple guidelines and resources have been developed by the CDC and other organizations to provide information around outpatient infection prevention and help organizations become more prepared. In 2022 the Bree Collaborative identified Outpatient Infection control as a topic for the development of guidelines for multiple audiences within the health care ecosystem (state agencies, employer/purchasers, health systems, providers, etc.). But there remind a lot of implementation work to be done.

In 2023, as the Washington State Department of Health convened it’s new HAIAR network, it’s members quickly recognized a need for comprehensive pragmatic tools for new Infection Preventionists or Infection Preventionists new to the outpatient setting.  The HAIAR network addressed this issue by leveraging the Bree Collaborative’s guidelines to develop and distribute a practical guide that includes IP basics and program development information that fills an identified gap for pragmatic tools in the outpatient setting.

The goal of the Network and the playbook it developed is to increase the number of IP’s in outpatient settings in Washington State who have the skills to develop and maintain an IP program. This handy, quick reference provides Infection Preventionists with ways to assess their own skills as well as their programs needs and the resources to build out capacity where needed. It covers a whole host of topics from organizations to follow for public health and infection prevention practice updates, training and templates for tracking and promoting IP basics such as hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and protective equipment, to disease surveillance and lab coordination.

• Chapter 1 – Infection Prevention Basics and Core Practices
• Chapter 2 – Occupational Health
• Chapter 3 – Safe Injection Practices
• Chapter 4 – Surveillance and Disease Reporting
• Chapter 5 – Environment of Care
• Chapter 6 – Sterilization and High Level Disinfection
• Chapter 7 – Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Chapter 8 – Checklists and Tools
• Chapter 9 – Laboratory Coordination for Infection Preventionists
• Chapter 10 – Partnerships with Communities
• Appendix A: Resources for Specific Settings

Next week, the HAIAR will launch their Playbook, in collaboration with Bree Collaborative Staff. We will discuss how to use other tools the Bree has developed to help facilitate implementation and improvements for your outpatient infection control work. You view the playbook here: Washington State Department of Health Outpatient Infection Control Playbook

Upcoming Webinar: Introduction to the Playbook for New Infection Preventionists in Outpatient Settings

March 24, 2025 11:00 AM Pacific Time  – Register HERE