January Healthcare Professionals Newsletter

Virginia Department of Health sent this bulletin at 01/30/2026 08:38 AM EST

January 28, 2026

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Healthcare Professionals Newsletter

In This Issue

When to Test for Measles

Please consult VDH’s Measles Testing and Reporting Algorithm to help guide your decision making about testing for measles. In the context of recent measles activity in Virginia and the United States, providers should consider measles in all patients presenting with febrile rash illness.

Consult your local health department immediately if you suspect measles. Request public health testing for patients reporting a recent exposure to measles or travel to an area experiencing a measles outbreak.

Consider recent MMR vaccination. Approximately 5% of MMR recipients develop a rash, usually within 6-12 days after immunization. Such reactions can be clinically identical to measles infection, and can result in positive lab testing for measles. If a recently vaccinated patient (<21 days) has fever and rash, but no history of travel or exposure, measles is extremely unlikely and testing is not usually indicated. Please consult with your local health department if you have questions.

👉 Visit VDH’s Measles Information for Healthcare Providers for more information.

VDH Measles Reporting and Testing Guidance for Healthcare Providers

New Joint Healthcare Infection Prevention Advisory Group

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announced a new joint effort called the Healthcare Infection Prevention Advisory Group (HIPAG). This group will focus on important infection prevention issues across the country. It was created to help provide guidance and support after a previous advisory group ended.

HIPAG brings together experts from healthcare, public health, and patient groups. They will work together to help prevent infections and respond to new health threats.

👉 Read the HIPAG press release to learn more.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2026 mPINC survey is expected to launch later this Spring

CDC's national survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) assesses maternity care practices across the United States. It also provides feedback to encourage hospitals to improve breastfeeding support. About every two years, CDC invites all eligible hospitals across U.S. states and territories to complete the mPINC survey. The questions focus on specific maternity care practices that affect how babies are fed.

Why is it important to participate in mPINC?

Health care professionals and hospital administrators can use mPINC data to highlight their efforts to support breastfeeding and improve care practices and policies to better support maternity patients. Participating hospitals receive individualized, private reports that highlight specific areas where they can change their care practices to better support breastfeeding.

What can you do before the survey is launched?

If you would like to update the point of contact at your hospital for the mPINC survey, please email your name, business phone number, and hospital name and address to mPINC@cdc.gov. Have another status change, such as a hospital name change or no longer providing maternity services? Include this information in your email.

What’s next?

CDC will provide more information about the 2026 mPINC survey once the launch date has been determined. As always, the mPINC listserv and mPINC website are the best sources for updates on survey administration.

Have questions? Email mPINC@cdc.gov

Wisdom Watch Alliance Summit on Best Practices for Community Cognitive Screening, February 7, 2026

Did you know Virginia has a statewide dementia-capable plan? Did you know that everyone has a part to play in brain health?

Are you someone who believes in "nothing for us without us"? Then we are looking for you, whether you are a clinician, a caregiver, a faith leader, policymaker, or concerned community member out there just trying to make life work day-to-day.

Come to our summit. Bring your lived experience. Lend your voice to shaping how community cognitive screening should look and how community cognitive screening should happen in our current times.

Saturday, Feb 7, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

HCPS Oak Avenue Complex, Highland Springs, VA 23075

Learn more and register: www.wisdomwatchalliance.org

MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC) Preceptorship Clinical Scholars Program, March 16 and 17, 2026

The MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC) is offering a Preceptorship Clinical Scholars Program for the Spring/Summer of 2026. The virtual 2-day session will take place March 16 and 17. On-site learning will take place with MAAETC local partner sites and be coordinated with appropriate clinical preceptors.

Educational topics will include:

Initial patient encounters
Antiretroviral prescribing
Interactions between STIs and HIV
Mpox
Viral hepatitis
Prevention strategies
PrEP/PEP
Co-morbidities
Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders
Chronic disease management
And more!

The program is intended for clinicians employed within the MidAtlantic region, particularly those involved in HIV testing, treatment, and supportive services. The training content has been tailored to address the educational needs of healthcare professionals in Virginia and other MidAtlantic states and territories.

Continuing education units are provided as long as the requirements of the activity are met.

👉 For more information, visit the MAAETC website.

New VDH Multidrug-Resistant Organisms Webpage

Access a broader set of resources on multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), beyond Candida auris and carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase-producing organisms.

👉 Check out the new VDH MDRO webpage.

Standard, Transmission-Based, and Enhanced Barrier Precautions

Looking for a colorful, easy-to-use resource describing the differences between Standard, Transmission-Based, and Enhanced Barrier Precautions? VDH has a new flyer for you!

Standard Precautions, Transmission-Based Precautions, and Enhanced Barrier Precautions (for nursing homes)

Standard Precautions and Transmission-Based Precautions (for all other healthcare settings)

👉 Check out additional Infection Control Precautions Resources.

New Infection Prevention Rapid Resources Are Live

New Infection Prevention Rapid Resources are now available, with information tailored to both essential and foundational audiences. New topics include Burkholderia, Candida auris, carbapenem-resistant organisms, and Group A Strep. These quick, practical tools are designed to support timely training and real-world application across settings.