Infection prevention resource available

A new resource is designed to help long-term care (LTC) facilities create and implement comprehensive infection prevention programs.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has published the Infection Preventionist’s Guide to Long-Term Care to help reduce the number of infections—currently 1.5 million—that lead to 350,000 to 400,000 deaths every year at the country's more than 15,000 LTC facilities.

“APIC is committed to increasing educational resources for long-term care to advance knowledge and competencies of healthcare personnel working in this setting, and for the benefit of the residents under their care,” says APIC’s CEO, Katrina Crist, MBA.

The guide, developed by a team of infection prevention experts, comes with a CD-ROM with customizable forms, tools and resources. The book presents topic-specific information and examples, visuals, checklists and references related to:

• Regulatory requirements;
• Infection prevention risk assessment and program development;
• Surveillance and reporting;
• Nursing assessment and interventions to prevent the most commonly occurring infections in long-term care;
• Environmental cleaning and disinfection;
• LTC issues such as care transitions and life enrichment activities;
• Occupational health, immunization programs and staff education; and
• Disaster and pandemic preparedness.

The guide is $169 for APIC members and $225 for others.

See other content by this author here.

Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.