HAI/AR Navigator Newsletter - May/June

Virginia Department of Health sent this bulletin at 05/15/2026 10:00 AM EDT

May/June 2026 | Volume 17, Issue 103

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HAI & AR Newsletter

In this Newsletter:

Hot Topics
News in Virginia
Training & Education
National Healthcare Safety Network
Making Connections

📢 Hot Topics

Recommendations for the Routine Use of a Disinfectant Effective Against C. auris in Healthcare Settings

Outlines VDH recommendations for healthcare facilities for the prevention of C. auris through the routine use of a disinfectant effective against C. auris on environmental and non-critical medical device surfaces.

Updated Ventilation Standards

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) recently updated Standard 170 (Ventilation in Health Care Facilities). This document offers guidance, regulation, and mandates to designers and operators of healthcare facilities by providing the minimum requirements for healthcare facility ventilation.

📢 News in Virginia

Every Transfer Counts: Multidrug-Resistant Organism (MDRO) Communication Guide for Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities

Resource developed by the Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group (VHAG) Annual Priority Workgroup focused on improving communication to prevent the spread of MDROs in Virginia.

Includes practical tools and best practices that support communication during patient and resident transfers across acute care hospitals and long-term acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities (nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, ventilator-capable skilled nursing facilities). These strategies can be adapted to each facility’s workflows and resources.
Hospitals are encouraged to register for and attend a webinar on June 12^th from 10-11 AM to learn more about this communication guide and information technology tools available to enhance MDRO communication and prevention.
Companion documents:
- Admission Checklist - customizable for screening patients/residents during the admissions process. 
- MDRO Communication Quick Sheet - a one-page summary of key points from the guide.

Measles in Virginia

Stay up to date with measles activity in your community by reviewing VDH’s measles website for the latest case counts, exposure sites, and FAQs. Visit the updated healthcare providers page for revised infection prevention and control guidance, including additional preparedness and response considerations for outpatient clinics.

MDRO Trend Tracker

The case counts for carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPO) and Candida auris have been updated to include data through March 31, 2026. Key updates include:

A total of 159 CPO cases were reported to VDH from January through March 2026 with 130 clinical cases and 29 screening cases
- Carbapenemase mechanism mix shifted toward NDM, which became the dominant carbapenemase statewide: this was influenced by the high number of NDM cases reported from the Northern region
- Reported cases of OXA-48 were higher than usual: 10 cases were reported in January through March 2026 compared to 17 cases reported in all of 2025

A total of 115 Candida auris cases were reported to VDH from January through March 2026 with 55 clinical and 60 screening cases
- Central region continues to report the highest burden: 49 cases were reported for January through March 2026
- Northern region reported an increase in cases compared to the previous quarter: 41 cases compared to 26 cases reported October through December 2025

Based on these trends, check out the following resources: 
- HAI/AR Newsletter Special Edition: Multidrug-Resistant Organism (MDRO) Prevention and Containment: reviews the coordinated response between healthcare facilities and public health when an MDRO is identified in the facility
- Spotlight on Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales: includes a more detailed breakdown of NDM-producing organisms and information about NDM treatment options

Recruiting Nursing Homes to Pilot an Environmental Cleaning Audit Tool

Do you practice in a nursing home that’s looking to strengthen its environmental cleaning audit process? The VDH HAI/AR Program and IPRO (the CMS Mid-Atlantic Quality Improvement Organization) are inviting nursing homes to pilot a free, electronic environmental cleaning audit tool and interactive data dashboard.

Benefits to participation:

Collect data quickly. Collect data at the bedside in real time using a cell phone, iPad, or laptop. Data populate in an online dashboard within 72 hours.
Analyze data with ease. You get access to your data in an online data dashboard. You can filter and export the data in several ways.
Benchmark against other facilities. In addition to seeing your data, you can view de-identified aggregate data from other participating nursing homes.
Drive continuous improvement. The data dashboard helps identify key opportunities for training, supports efforts to reduce outbreak risk, and informs work to reinforce regulatory compliance.

Enrollment is open now through the end of July. If your facility is interested in participating or has questions, email Terry Lubowski at TLubowski@ipro.org. We look forward to partnering with your facility! We're Ready to Enroll in the Mid-Atlantic CMS QIN-QIO (Region 2).

📢 Training & Education

Virginia Department of Health

2026 Infection Prevention Education Roadshow: The Infection Prevention Educator Roadshow is back with five in-person sessions across Virginia this summer! Hosted by the VDH HAI/AR Program, this no cost one-day event offers hands-on training and practical teaching strategies for those who train healthcare workers.

Strengthen Your Educator Toolkit: Built for infection preventionists, designated infection control officers, and health educators ready to grow their infection prevention teaching skills, whether you’re just getting started or looking to sharpen and refresh what you already do.
Build It as You Learn: With new hands-on exercises and more dedicated build time than ever, you’ll create ready-to-use education you can bring back and use right away.
Use It Tomorrow: Walk away with a take-home bag of practical, ready-to-use educator tools so you can confidently train your teams on infection prevention right away.

💻Register for the Roadshow on TRAIN Virginia, search for Course ID: 1136620 or Title: VDH: 2026 Infection Prevention Educator Roadshow.

Daily Room Cleaning Checklist for Occupied Patient/Resident Rooms: Step-by-Step Guide: This resource (available in PDF and Word) discusses daily room cleaning, including general guidance, tips for using personal protective equipment and environmental cleaning products, and a step-by-step checklist.

Spanish versions of the checklist are also available (PDF, Word)

Infection Prevention Education Posters in Spanish: Ten VDH posters on core infection prevention strategies (e.g., hand hygiene, putting on and taking off PPE, cleaning and disinfection, injection safety) are now available in Spanish.

Elevate Your Infection Preventionist (IP) Career with a Unique Mentorship Opportunity! Applications for Cycle 3 of the Infection Preventionist Mentorship Program, created by APIC Virginia and the Virginia Department of Health, are now open! Apply by May 24th to join the new group that will start on June 1.

This free six-month program pairs IPs for shared learning and professional growth.
Learn more about the program and how it can support your IP practice on the APIC Virginia IP Mentorship website.
For questions, contact mentorship@apicva.com.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Project Firstline Micro-Learns: Essentials for Infection Control

Environmental Services (EVS): a series of guided infection control discussions that provide brief, on-the-job training for EVS workers in healthcare settings

Pertussis Resources: new micro-learn resource to support early recognition of pertussis in healthcare settings. The Pertussis Micro-Learn includes a discussion guide and ready-to-use job aid. 
- Project Firstline and the American Medical Association recently hosted a webinar on preventing and responding to pertussis in healthcare settings. The recording is available here.

New Candida auris Infographic: Candida auris in Health Care: Recognize the Risk and Stop the Spread provides a quick overview to educate healthcare personnel about how C. auris spreads, where it can persist in healthcare environments, and the infection control actions that help stop transmission. 

Antibiotic Stewardship & Infection Prevention Training for Nursing Homes: Developed by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), this CDC-funded free course includes short modules for frontline nursing home staff (CNAs, LPNs, RNs, and bedside staff). The course supports frontline workers in protecting residents, reducing harm, and supporting appropriate antibiotic use. The short modules (5-10 minutes each) can be incorporated into daily huddles by nurse educators or infection preventionists, emphasizing antibiotic stewardship and core infection prevention practices.

Tools to Tell the Story: New Resources for Communicating about Antimicrobial Resistance - Drug-resistant infections are rising nationwide, affecting everyday conditions like UTIs, foodborne illnesses, and sexually transmitted infections. As experts in antimicrobial resistance, you play a vital role in sharing clear, actionable prevention messages with your networks. 

CDC’s new Antimicrobial Resistance Communication Toolkit provides evidence-tested messages and ready-to-use materials to help you promote simple actions—hand hygiene, safe food practices, recommended vaccinations, and safer sex behaviors—that reduce infections and slow the spread of drug-resistant germs. 
Help amplify these prevention-focused messages across Virginia. Download and share free resources from CDC’s antimicrobial resistance website.

https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/partner-communication-resources/

📢 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)

Respiratory Virus Hospital Admissions Levels

On April 24th, NHSN launched new Hospital Admissions Levels to make it easier to track influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 trends.

Details:

Weekly data will be grouped into five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high.
Data can be explored via the CDC Respiratory Illness Data Channel and NHSN Hospital Respiratory Data (HRD) Dashboards. A new NHSN methodology webpage is also available.
For questions or assistance related to NHSN Hospital Admission Levels, please contact the NHSN Help Desk through NHSN-ServiceNow. When you submit your request, please follow these steps:
- Select Patient Safety
- Choose the HRD Module
- Use the subject line: “NHSN Hospital Admission Levels”

If you cannot access ServiceNow, email NHSN@cdc.gov with the same subject line.

CMS Quarterly Data Reporting Deadline

Data Submission: Deadline to enter 2025Q4 data into NHSN for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Reporting Programs for participating acute care hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and cancer hospitals is May 18, 2026.
Details: To ensure your data are entered correctly, please verify the following:
- Monthly reporting plans are complete
- Confirm correct summary and event data entry or mark appropriate "no events" boxes
- Resolve all alerts on the NHSN facility homepage
- Hospitals with conferred rights to VDH will receive a quality assurance report in May; please check your email and acknowledge receipt and review

For more guidance on sending accurate data to CMS for quality reporting, please visit the CMS Requirements webpage on the NHSN website

CDC Antimicrobial Resistance and Patient Safety Portal Updates

Several updates were recently made to the Inpatient Antibiotic Use Data dashboard.

2024 data for the Inpatient Antibiotic Use profile are now available.
Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratios (SAARs) have been updated to reflect the new 2023 national baseline and risk adjustment models.
A new dashboard displays percentage of antimicrobial use by location and population (adult, pediatric, neonatal) within each SAAR category, enabling users to quickly identify the most frequently used antimicrobials within each grouping.

AU Option SAAR Reports for NHSN Groups Using 2023 Baseline

NHSN Group users can now access Antimicrobial Use (AU) Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio (SAAR) reports updated with the 2023 baseline.

Details: These reports offer more precise estimates, improved benchmarking, and meaningful comparisons to 2023 AU Data.

Educational resources for running and interpreting your SAARs using the 2023 baseline can be found on the 2023 AU SAAR Rebaseline | NHSN |CDC.
Note: 2023 baseline SAAR plots, Targeted Assessment for Antimicrobial Stewardship reports, and dashboards are not yet available but will be added in upcoming releases.

📢 Making Connections

✴️ Cuppa Tea with an IP. Cuppa Tea with an IP is a weekly chance to chat live with a VDH IP and subject matter experts about your infection prevention and control questions. We can’t wait to hear your questions and see how we can help. Register once for the Cuppa Tea with an IP meetings and attend whenever you have questions or need a little IP peer boost.

✴️ Vitamin IPC. Subscribe to the monthly Vitamin IPC bulletin by Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA) for essential resources and access to events to enhance frontline healthcare personnel’s infection prevention and control training.

✴️ Clinician Letter. This emailed letter is sent to all currently licensed healthcare professionals in the Commonwealth to communicate urgent updates. Access archived letters at Clinician Letters - Clinicians (virginia.gov) 

✴️ Healthcare Professional Newsletter. A subscriber-based monthly newsletter for Virginia healthcare professionals with updates on outbreaks, emerging diseases, reporting requirements, resources, and trainings. Subscribe and access archived newsletters at Healthcare Professional Newsletter - Clinicians (virginia.gov) 

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